Chapter 16: Rest

At night, the decorative lanterns were lit, and the stars and moon hung in the sky.

Carrying a pile of food, I left the town and walked along the moonlit forest path.
The little habit of twirling my hair while thinking unconsciously reappeared.

I firmly remembered Nadiesse’s expression from before.
That “I can’t stand you but I can’t kill you” look was just too wonderful~

And today, I had originally spent over 300 Holy Grace, but Nadiesse was so rich, she just threw 500 Holy Grace at me.
I even earned 200!

My first pot of gold in another world actually came from scamming a price difference.

It was a bit dramatic, but at least the result was good.

When the time comes, I’ll return Elvira’s money to her, and I can still keep 200.
Although this amount is pitifully small, it’s better than nothing.

Lost in thought, I had unknowingly walked for a while.
The cave from before was faintly visible, and there was a pitch-black figure…

It was Elvira.

If it weren’t for her fair and tender skin, I probably wouldn’t have been able to see this little female dragon.
I don’t know why, she’s clearly a dragon but she’s so beautiful.
It would be even better if she didn’t bite people.

“I’m back,” I walked up to Elvira and stuffed all the bags I was holding into her arms.
“Hold these. Where’s Little Nia? …Why aren’t you talking? Cat got your tongue?”

I looked Elvira up and down.
On her beautiful face, her willow-like eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and she refused to speak for a long time.

“Hmm? Did something happen while I was away?”

Elvira didn’t answer.
She suddenly reached out and grabbed my right wrist.
Her action startled me.

“Hey! What’s gotten into you?” I said, annoyed.

She gnawed on me all night yesterday, and now she’s acting possessed again.
What’s her deal?

Suddenly, while I was still wondering, Elvira spoke, word by word.

“Verona… you have the scent of another woman on you… a female fox.”

“That’s right. I met a foxkin lady today. She’s actually quite nice.
Not only did she reimburse us for today’s food, she also promised me a twenty-five percent discount,” I said nonchalantly, but on second thought, I seemed to understand something.
“Wait, Elvira, you don’t think that fox did something to me, do you?”

“Didn’t she?”

“Of course not! What could she do to me??”

“You reek of fox.”

“Er… don’t get the wrong idea. We just had a little misunderstanding when we first met and got into a small conflict.”

“…Then let me wipe the scent off.”

Saying that, Elvira pulled me directly into her embrace.

Seriously, is this never going to end?
Hugging me twice is enough.
Don’t I have any face to save?

I opened my small mouth, revealing my pearly teeth, and bit down directly on Elvira’s exposed shoulder!

I wanted to express my dissatisfaction in this way.

“Oof! That hurts…” but this dragon’s skin was too thick.
Elvira was completely fine, but I was the one who was left grimacing in pain, and two tears even streamed down my face.

“It looks so soft, why is it so hard?”

“When I’m attacked, my dragon scales automatically defend.
Don’t be so reckless next time.”

“Pah! Who’s being reckless? You’re the one who suddenly hugged me, okay?
Have some sense of propriety—”

“Is Sister Verona back?” a weak voice came from the cave.
I quickly stopped the words that were about to spill out of my mouth and pushed Elvira twice, breaking free from her embrace.

Just then, the little blue bundle also came out of the cave.
I shot Elvira a look to tell her to behave, then walked up to Little Nia and stroked her fluffy little head.

“Mm-hmm, sister is back~ Little Nia must be hungry.
Sister bought lots and lots of delicious food.”

Hearing this, the little dumpling’s large pink eyes lit up, her happiness overflowing.

I beckoned to Elvira, who was holding the bags, to come over.
We entered the cave, spread out a blanket, and laid out all the food I had bought.
Then, a black one and a blue one, a big one and a small one, the two of them began to eat cheerfully.

How should I put it, the scene before me had a strong sense of feeding pets, it’s just… that black one can really eat…

I had bought a lot of food.
Little Nia only ate a small portion of it.
Nearly ninety percent of the remaining food went into that black one’s mouth.

Such a beautiful person, completely ruined by her appetite.

And the thing about her chewing on me is also very cheapening.

Eh? Didn’t I plan on not letting her eat…

How did I forget about that… It seems I’m really tired today.

After a long while, once the problem of food and warmth was solved, I sat down next to Little Nia and took out the badge with the flower and scythe.
Little Nia’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Sister, sister, this badge, where did sister find this badge?!”

“Does Little Nia recognize it?”

“Mm-hmm! This is the emblem of my family’s merchant guild.”

“Is that so…”

I briefly told Little Nia what had happened in the city during the day.
The final answer was: the Scythe Blade Merchant Guild is the merchant guild run by Little Nia’s family, and that Blade Witch—Coevid Lavillia—is Little Nia’s mother.

I didn’t expect that the one we rescued was actually a rich young lady.
But even so, Little Nia was abducted for a full two years.
I feel that this matter is inseparable from Mancius.

Little Nia’s mother, Coevid, sounded like a rather powerful figure from what Nadiesse said.
To be able to lay hands on her child and transport her across the sea to here… only Mancius could have done it.

I also asked Elvira about the structure of the Church of Mancius, but Miss Black Dragon was still concerned about the scent on me, so she spoke with a dismissive air.

“The Church of Mancius is divided into three departments: the Holy Tribunal, Healing, and Bountiful.
The three departments have their own duties, managing military, medical, and civil affairs respectively.”

Such a familiar separation of powers…

The inquisitors in Norn City at the beginning probably belonged to the Holy Tribunal.
And of the six Grand Inquisitors, three of them should have been present at that time: the lump of iron, the white-robed woman, and the one who threw the golden spear.

To dispatch three at once… I always feel that the matter in Norn City is not that simple.

The ink-black of the night deepened, and the world slowly fell silent.
The breeze rustled the leaves, like a lullaby before sleep, making one drowsy and calming the heart.

Because of Elvira’s actions last night, I decided to sleep next to Little Nia.
If that wicked dragon has any bottom line at all, she won’t be able to touch me next to a child.

Lying on the spread-out blanket, I rhythmically patted the little girl in my arms, feeling her breathing gradually steady.
I was also extremely sleepy.

I’m a bit tired today, let’s sleep early… hmm?

Just a moment after closing my eyelids, something wrapped around my ankle.
I looked back… damn it, it’s Elvira’s tail…

I waved my hand and whispered to her: “I’m going to sleep, and don’t even think about chewing on me again. Go away, go away.”

Elvira very cleverly tilted her head.
Her golden eyes blinked, and blinked again, looking pitiful.

Tsk, what’s she playing pitiful for?

I didn’t pay any more attention to her.
I turned over and lay on my side on the mat, and soon fell asleep…

Good night, world.