Chapter 22: The Dragon Slayer’s Reluctant Return

Good news: Faltis spared Yarlola.

Bad news: Faltis was here for Eileen, and it seemed she had no intention of letting Eileen off the hook.

Even worse: Eileen couldn’t refuse.

“Mhm.” Eileen nodded in agreement this time, with barely any hesitation.

For her, this outcome was already the best possible.

“Agreeing so quickly, it seems you’ve acknowledged your mistake,” Faltis said, nodding with satisfaction. “But you already know the good news, so why aren’t you smiling?”

‘You guess why I’m not smiling?’

Eileen had no idea how Faltis planned to punish (or perhaps, toy with) her later.

Eileen cleared her throat. “It’s nothing, I’m just a little curious about what Lady Faltis’s punishment will be.”

“Are you scared?”

“Absolutely not.” Eileen shook her head.

“Then, give me a smile. The old you always looked so eager, whether it was for punishment or reward.” Faltis’s words only made it worse.

At her mention, Eileen wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it; the humiliation was unbearable!

“Like this, is this okay?” Eileen placed her index fingers on her cheeks, forcing a smile onto her face.

She couldn’t help it. Eileen genuinely found it hard to smile right now, but she felt that not smiling would only lead to more trouble.

Faltis pouted, clearly somewhat displeased, but she said nothing. Instead, she turned and left the bathroom.

Eileen followed close behind Faltis.

“I’ll let bygones be bygones regarding past matters. After all, you made those decisions from the Empire’s standpoint, which I can understand.”

The sound of their footsteps echoed through the corridor.

“However, from now on, everything you do will prioritize me. Do you understand?”

Eileen remained silent throughout the walk. It wasn’t that she found Faltis’s demand excessive; rather, she simply needed to be more careful. Her current position was different, and her actions now had to consider Faltis.

However, Eileen also had her bottom line: she would not act against the Empire again. Even if it were Faltis’s direct command, she would not execute it.

“Do you have any objections?” Faltis asked.

“I do.”

“Speak.”

“Even if I was set up by others, I cannot act against the Empire based on a few words,” Eileen stated. “I can fulfill Lady Faltis’s various commands, but I hope you won’t put me in a difficult position.”

“Do you still hold hope for the Empire?”

Eileen nodded.

“Of course.” Faltis agreed to the request, and for the time being, Faltis had no significant interest in the Empire anyway.

They returned to the room.

Faltis picked up a document from the desk, something she hadn’t yet had time to deal with.

“Coincidentally, there are some matters here that still need handling.” Faltis handed the document to Eileen.

Eileen unfolded it, revealing a helpless, wry smile.

“What? Are you surprised?”

“Not really.” Eileen sighed. How should she put it?

Faltis had already given Eileen too many scares; she was somewhat numb to them by now.

The place marked on the map was very familiar to her; it was one of the entrances to the Golden Dragon Territory.

There was a small town there called Gran Town.

Because of its proximity to the Golden Dragon Territory, many dragon slayers often came to this place to rest and purchase weapons.

Eileen herself had once been among them; she had visited this place for supplies before entering the Golden Dragon Territory.

This was quite normal. There were many such towns, where danger and opportunity coexisted. No one could ever know if a bustling town one moment might be invaded by dragons the next.

What Eileen hadn’t expected, however, was that Gran Town, a place even the Empire considered part of its territory, was actually an outpost for Faltis.

“How many more towns like this are there…? I apologize, I overstepped.” As soon as Eileen spoke, she realized she had said the wrong thing.

Such absolute secrets were, of course, better known by as few people as possible.

“It’s fine. I trust you, which is why I’m telling you this.” Faltis sat at the desk. “There’s only this one.”

Eileen looked at the request, which seemed to indicate some trouble.

“Lady Faltis, what do you mean by entrusting this to me?”

“Of course, it’s for you to resolve. I believe you can handle this matter,” Faltis replied.

However, the mission document only stated that Gran Town had encountered a little trouble and provided the issuer’s information.

This left Eileen feeling somewhat lost.

“Never mind. This is your first time handling such a task, so I’ll go with you,” Faltis said.

No, this simply wouldn’t do. Eileen had finally gotten an opportunity to go alone.

“Such a small matter doesn’t require troubling Lady Faltis. I’ll just go and resolve it myself.” Eileen needed to be away from Faltis for a while to calm down properly.

If every day continued like this, she truly felt she would perish.

“Oh? You used to be reluctant to leave my side. Whenever I returned after being out for a while, you’d cling to me for ages,” Faltis teased.

Please, stop talking.

Eileen hung her head, her face flushed, steam practically rising from her head.

Ahhh!

It was so utterly mortifying!

Damn these dark memories, vanish from my mind at once!

“Can… can we please not talk about past things anymore, Lady Faltis?”

“Why not? Didn’t someone say they would never abandon their memories?” Faltis pressed her advantage.

Eileen covered her head with her hands, wishing she could die.

Faltis noticed Eileen’s ear tips had turned crimson.

“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore.”

Eileen breathed a sigh of relief. If Faltis had continued, Eileen felt she might have dug a hole and buried herself on the spot.

“Relax. You should be able to solve this mission quite easily.”

“Why do you say that?” Eileen didn’t even know the mission’s content yet.

“Because it’s a task you’re extremely familiar with. You just need to act as a dragon slayer, go to Gran Town, and complete the client’s request,” Faltis explained.

“Huh?”

This was fiercely specialized. No one understood dragon slayers better than Eileen.

“Because this location is somewhat special, gathering a large number of dragon slayers, it’s naturally impossible to appear before them in the form of a dragon.”

Eileen nodded. It seemed this mission would be exceptionally easy. “Don’t worry, Lady Faltis. While I might not be a great maid, if you want me to be a dragon slayer, there will absolutely be no problem.”