[Vol. 7] Chapter 230: The Promise
“Yes, everything is ready. Once we get the signal, we can move according to the plan at any time.”
—That night, in the Seventh District of the Academy City of Sainz.
Inside a tightly sealed room, two men dressed in plain clothes were sitting across from a woman also dressed in civilian clothing. They spoke in hushed voices, as if afraid someone outside might hear them.
Even though it wasn’t very late, the doors and windows were completely shut, the curtains were tightly drawn, and even the magical lights had been dimmed to the lowest setting. The whole scene looked like something out of a secret operation.
Of course, this level of caution might have been unnecessary. After all, they were in a private villa owned by a wealthy businessman, so their conversation should have been completely safe.
After hearing the two men’s confirmation, the young woman nodded and spoke in a quiet voice.
“Tomorrow is the final match of the tournament. It’s a short one, and should end within half a day. After that, the results will be announced and the closing ceremony with the awards will begin. At that time, all the high-ranking figures from every side will be gathered in the arena. That’s when we need to—”
Before she could finish, a cold female voice suddenly echoed through the sealed room, without warning.
“Sorry, but it looks like you won’t be able to wait until then~”
“!?”
“Who’s there?!”
The three of them were shocked. The two men immediately drew their weapons, military magic guns. They loaded them with magic bullets and began searching the room for the unseen intruder, acting on instinct. Meanwhile, the woman didn’t even hesitate. She turned and sprinted toward the second-floor window, clearly planning to escape by jumping out!
It was clear that these three were not ordinary Sainz residents. Their quick reactions, calm minds, and familiarity with weapons and emergency situations were all way beyond normal. In fact, the magic guns the men held were clearly standard-issue weapons of the Austre Empire’s military!
“So, you still had a day left, but you’ve already stopped trying to hide your actions? Hmph, I suppose some people must be feeling very confident about their plan. Or… maybe you’re just the bait?”
That same cold and calm voice echoed again.
A flash of red light streaked through the air, and in the blink of an eye, the two men, who had been standing ready to fight, collapsed to the floor, their life or death unknown.
At the same time, the woman, who had nearly reached the window, suddenly froze in place. Her eyes rolled back and her body trembled slightly, as if something had taken control of her.
“Uuhh... ahhh…!”
With an oddly soft and breathy cry, somewhere between a moan and a gasp. An elegant, tiny blood-red bat landed quietly on her shoulder. Its sharp little fangs sank mercilessly into her unprotected white neck. As it drank her blood, it also drained away all her strength to resist.
It turns out that the cold voice they had been searching for the source of was actually coming from the small bat, no bigger than a palm, which had been sitting on the woman's shoulder, secretly listening to their conversation. The three of them had no idea.
"Ugh... uh..."
It seemed as though the young woman had been hit with an extremely strong shock. She quickly rolled her eyes and collapsed to the ground. Even though she had clearly lost consciousness, her body, with its attractive curves, was still twitching slightly.
The small bat, now full of blood, gently rose into the air. In a flash of blood-red light, it transformed into a short-haired, dark red-haired girl dressed in servant's attire. She elegantly wiped the blood from her lips with a handkerchief and disdainfully glanced at the young woman lying on the ground.
"The taste of blood is quite nice. Her soul is clean enough, but she chooses to work for those scum in the intelligence agency, becoming some spy... what a waste of good talent..."
As she mumbled to herself, two more beautiful young girls, wearing exquisite maid uniforms with blood-red rose patterns embroidered on their sleeves, stepped out from the shadows of the room. They respectfully bowed to her, their dark-colored short swords gleaming with what seemed like fresh blood that still hadn't dried, reflecting the dim light of the magical lamps.
"Head Maid Yulia, all the enemies here have been taken care of."
"Mm, this is the last batch. Take them along with the spies we caught following this woman and lock them up. Send the sisters to guard them closely. I'll report tonight's operation to Lady Lucine."
"Yes~"
After watching her elite maids quietly leave, the secretary, having just completed the capture operation, opened the tightly closed window. Her dark red eyes gazed quietly at the bright full moon in the sky, but there was no sense of relief in her demeanor. Instead, she sighed lightly, a look of worry on her face.
"A storm is coming..."
In the Lannas Province, at the Dragon God's Temple.
The deep night and the pale silver glow of the moon covered the vast mountain valley, which was considered the holiest ground by all Dragonkin. Amidst the usual peaceful scenery of thousands of years, two figures, who would bring about unprecedented changes to the world, quietly arrived in the mountains.
Although the name "Dragon God’s Temple" suggested a sacred place, it wasn’t truly a temple. Or more accurately, the original temple had long since been expanded over the centuries by the Dragonkin into a settlement that had grown into something resembling a city.
It is located deep within the only large mountain range on the Sainz plain. This region, known as the "Dragon Mountain Range," is said to not have always looked the way it does now.
It was originally created when the [Earth and Matter Dragons], the yellow dragons, one of the four fundamental dragon races, worked together, using forbidden-level dragon magic to forcefully raise the mountains from the plains, all to make it easier for their kind to settle down.
Although this is just a legend, the existence of this mountain range is indeed very strange and doesn't align with normal geological theories. Therefore, most Dragonkin within their communities firmly believe in the truth of this legend.
"The Dragon God’s Temple... speaking of which, we had some previous contact with them because of the Austre Empire's intelligence agency. I thought it would take a lot more time to reach this point, but it turned out to be much quicker than expected."
Floating in the night sky, the black-haired girl shook her head with a hint of helplessness. Beside her, the golden-haired loli, who was maintaining her floating position with tiny dragon wings, looked at her with confusion.
"Master, don't you want to go down and take a look?"
"Forget it. Making a big scene doesn't really help. It's enough to meet the key people, or... do you want to meet them, Xiao Guang?"
After hesitating for a moment, the little dragon girl nodded.
"Yes, I'm still somewhat interested in the civilization of these dragon worshipers. But since time is tight, it can wait until after everything is over. I'll follow your arrangements, Master."
"Hehe, it's nice to see how clearly you express your own wishes. You've really changed a lot. Alright, let's make this our promise. Here..."
The black-haired girl leaned down and smiled as she extended a small, delicate finger. The little dragon girl tilted her head in confusion.
"What does this mean?"
"This is called a 'pinkie promise,' a ritual for making promises. Once we've agreed, we can't go back on our word."
"Huh?"
The little one, seeing the priestess make such a gesture for the first time, tilted her head and thought for a moment. With a somewhat confused but sincere expression, she hooked her tiny, jade-like pinkie around the other one, nodding seriously.
"Okay, let's make the pinkie promise."
Under the bright moonlight, the two girls exchanged a smile, having completed a promise that seemed to hold no real power. Violet quietly hid the brief flash of worry on her face, then raised her hand to point toward a certain spot within the mountains below.
"Let's go. It's time to meet her."