Chapter 34: Awakening and Secrets Aboard the Airship

Above the azure sky, an airship was steadily cruising. Inside one of its cabins, Eliza, the silver-haired girl, slowly opened her eyes. She gazed at the familiar ceiling, a knot of confusion forming in her mind.

“Am I… dead?”

“Or has my body become a tool for the Heretic God Cult?”

Having just awakened, Eliza’s consciousness was still hazy, her memories a tangled mess—a lingering effect of the Heretic God’s corruption.

She took a moment to compose herself. Just then, someone abruptly opened the cabin door, revealing the silver-haired girl with her eyes now open.

“Eliza-senpai! Deputy Dean, Eliza-senpai is awake!”

The girl who had opened the door scurried out in a rush. Feeling the cool breeze drift in from outside, Eliza’s mind gradually settled.

She recalled her previous battle against the Heretic God Cultists, her eventual defeat, and being carried away by a man. That man, also a cultist, had helped her for reasons unknown. She distinctly remembered something on his person that had deeply intrigued her, but the rest of the details remained elusive.

A sudden, sharp pain lanced through her brain—a lingering aftereffect of the corruption’s removal. She would need a period of rest to fully recover. The more she tried to think, the more intense the pain became, as if a perfectly functioning machine had suddenly jammed with inexplicable debris, severely hindering its efficiency.

“Eliza, how do you feel?”

At that moment, a stunning woman in a mage’s robe entered from outside. With raven hair and violet eyes, Snow exuded an ethereal grace, standing silently at the doorway and gazing at Eliza on the bed.

“I’m well. All the corruption in my body has been purged. Thank you, Deputy Dean.”

“Mhm. By the way, besides me, there’s a little one who wants to see you.”

“A little one?”

Snow smiled faintly, stepping aside slightly. As Eliza pondered, a silvery figure abruptly burst in, instantly pouncing towards Eliza’s bedside.

Eliza’s expression froze, momentarily unable to process what was happening, before a tender, childish female voice rang in her ears.

“Eliza, are you alright? You scared me half to death!”

The newcomer was none other than Gern. Upon learning Eliza had regained consciousness, she immediately transformed into her little dragon girl form. She had rushed over to check on Eliza’s condition, as the two of them had, in a sense, faced life and death together.

Eliza had shown no signs of waking for quite some time, which had left her terribly worried. No one here understood the dangers of Heretic God corruption better than she did. Even with Snow present as a safeguard, she couldn’t shake her unease.

Now, seeing Eliza finally awake, the immense weight in her heart finally lifted.

“Luoya, how did you get onto the airship?”

Eliza instinctively glanced at Miss Snow, who merely raised an eyebrow slightly, ultimately choosing not to expose Gern’s deception. After all, as someone who harbored the Kindling and possessed a second identity, it was understandable for her to take certain precautions to maintain secrecy.

“Luoya has exceptional talent. I intend to specially enroll her into the academy.”

“Oh, I see…”

Eliza nodded, a flicker of excitement in her eyes. Seeing that Snow hadn’t revealed her true name to Eliza, Gern slowly exhaled a breath of relief and said:

“Eliza-jie, you really scared me during this time. What exactly happened back then?”

Gern diligently pretended she hadn’t been present during the events. Unsure if Eliza had been fully conscious at the time, she decided to probe for information.

Eliza considered it. Since Luoya would eventually join the academy, she would inevitably encounter incidents like the Heretic God Cult affair sooner or later. Moreover, Luoya had already had some prior contact with the Heretic God Cult, so sharing some information with her wouldn’t hurt. Thus, she recounted her experiences in brief.

Watching Eliza explain with such care, Gern slowly let out a sigh of relief. Eliza likely didn’t know her true form; otherwise, given her personality, she would surely resent her.

Eliza held a deep reverence for dragonkind, perhaps due to the increasing scarcity of their species in recent times. If Eliza were to discover her true identity was not that of a dragon, she certainly wouldn’t forgive her.

However, observing Eliza’s subsequent demeanor, Gern finally breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Thank goodness,’ she thought. ‘Eliza doesn’t know my true identity. I can rest much easier now.’

It was at this moment that Eliza noticed the cord hanging from Gern’s chest, letting out a soft hum of curiosity.

“Luoya, is that a pendant around your neck?”

At these words, Gern’s entire body stiffened, a sudden realization flashing through her mind. ‘Back in the cave, Eliza had already noticed this pendant,’ she thought. ‘If she sees its full appearance, it means I risk exposure.’ Thinking this, Gern instinctively shielded her chest and took two steps back.

“Ah… no… it’s not a pendant. It’s just a gift from a friend. I thought it was precious, so I hung it around my neck.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Eliza’s eyes narrowed slightly. The cord around Gern’s neck seemed increasingly familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before. ‘But where?’ Eliza pondered, but in her current state, she was clearly unable to recall the specific details of that time too intensely. The more she tried to remember, the more her head ached, yet she simply couldn’t recall where she had seen that pendant.

“Ha, Eliza-jie, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now. You get some good rest.”

Gern scurried away, which only intensified Eliza’s curiosity about the pendant hanging from her chest. However, her current physical condition was insufficient to sustain much activity. After being conscious for only a brief period, her awareness once again succumbed to unconsciousness.

****

Meanwhile, Gern stealthily drew the curtains in her room and removed the pendant from her neck. Gazing at the pale blue gem, she felt a pang of helplessness, unsure where best to conceal it. ‘Maybe tie it to my thigh? It wouldn’t be exposed there, no one should see it.’ But the moment she pictured herself tying the pendant to her thigh, she inexplicably recalled a certain type of suggestive leg adornment. Her face flushed, and she quickly dismissed the idea. Indeed, she still couldn’t quite bring herself to tie it to her thigh.

‘So where would be suitable?’ Gern pondered for a moment before finally deciding to hang it at her waist. With her top covering it, the pendant wouldn’t be easily discovered. ‘I’m an absolute genius!’

The next morning, the airship gently descended onto a relatively flat clearing. It was an open-air plaza, surrounded by a towering building that served as lodging for the arriving examinees. Overall, it resembled the building within the royal capital but was considerably larger. Numerous staff members bustled in and out of the building, carrying out their duties. Several luxurious airships were already docked nearby—these had arrived earlier. Their examinees had long departed, leaving only the airship crew.