[Vol. 8] Chapter 4: Birds in the Night
"Hmm, that was a very good guess. My dear little Xiao Guang is getting smarter and smarter~"
Violet took the strange little device from her dragon but didn’t start examining it right away. Instead, she looked at her dragon with a gentle smile. Even though Xiao Guang had become a Dragon God, her dragon-scale outfit was still simple and casual, just like before. Violet couldn’t help but smile a bit wider at the sight.
"Master… I'm not 'little', it's just Xiao Guang! Don't think you can just brush me off with the same simple sweet talk you use on that kid!"
Feeling a little embarrassed under Violet’s direct gaze, the dragon girl turned her head slightly. But her long platinum tail sneaked around and gently wrapped itself around Violet’s leg, brushing softly against it like a spoiled child. The feeling was oddly pleasant and hard to describe.
Even though she had grown up a lot and now understood things like boundaries and self-control, when it was just the two of them, the dragon girl never held back from getting close to her master. It was her way of making up for the warmth they had missed during the past year apart.
Of course, Violet didn’t mind. If she did, she wouldn’t have taken her out alone like this to enjoy some quiet time together.
"Alright, alright, I know you’ve grown up now and deserve to be called properly. I’ll be careful not to use baby names anymore! And I’m not teasing you, I really do think you’ve improved a lot~"
Honestly, even trying to study something that didn’t really matter to her, that alone was something the old Xiao Guang wouldn’t have done. After all they’d been through, her personality had matured, and she no longer ignored everything in the world except her master.
Violet chuckled again, then finally lowered her head and focused on the strange little object that Xiao Guang had caught.
"Hmm... The magic traces are hidden very well. Some careless people might not even notice it, even if it’s right in front of them."
At first glance, the object looked like a small bird. But on closer inspection, you could tell it was made from a special kind of metal, carefully joined and shaped. It was small enough to fit in Violet’s hand, showing just how advanced the craftsmanship was. This was clearly a mature and well-developed technology.
Its wings were made of thin metal sheets shaped like feathers, and its body was painted a dark brown. At a glance, it looked just like an ordinary bird. Combined with the hidden magic energy, only those with sharp eyes or a strong sense of magic would notice that something was off.
Just like Xiao Guang had said, it was obviously a man-made device for spying, scouting, and sending information. Violet turned it over in her hand and looked carefully at the base of the wings, which had been a little squished by Xiao Guang’s rough handling. Soon, she found a faint pattern, thin tube-like markings, that would’ve been nearly impossible to spot without knowing where to look.
This marking was a symbol for a magic weapon, printed in hidden spots on all mass-produced devices like this. It was used to show where the item came from and to avoid friendly fire. But Violet already knew exactly what it meant.
"It’s definitely a scout drone from the Austre Empire’s military. Judging by the different types I’ve seen, it looks like they’ve finally figured out how to mass-produce multiple versions using the [Graeme] prototype. Using something like this to gather information… It’s miles ahead of what other countries are doing. No wonder the Austre Empire is so confident and eager to go to war. How far has their military technology really come?"
The dragon girl gave a scornful snort.
"Hmph. Even if they keep developing junk like this for a thousand or ten thousand years, they’ll never be a threat to a true powerhouse. But if these things are showing up around here so often, does that mean the Austre Empire is secretly watching us?"
Violet gave a small nod.
“It’s actually normal for them to be watching us. The Holy Empire is currently the leader of the faction opposing Austre Empire and is seen as their number one enemy. This delegation includes the Judgement Saintess, two angels, and now people like you and me who are powerful and have sensitive identities. Since we’re inside their country, any ruler would naturally want to keep a close eye on our group. Sending hidden scout devices like this bird-shaped [Graeme] instead of openly using soldiers to ‘escort’ us is already showing some respect.”
Instead of casually tossing away the crushed metal bird Xiao Guang had broken, the black-haired girl carefully put it into her backpack. She then looked thoughtfully at the dark mountain shadows in the distance.
“I just think… after their plan in Sainz failed, the Austre Empire didn’t get the excuse it wanted to arrest all the foreign delegations and start a war. If the Emperor truly sees the Holy Empire as his biggest enemy now, and if he’s as ruthless as he’s shown before, then he wouldn’t let a powerful group like ours leave the country so easily. Letting us return and join his enemies doesn’t make any sense.”
The dragon girl shrugged, not strongly agreeing or disagreeing.
“Master, I don’t think the Austre Empire will attack the delegation directly. Even without you and me, just the Saintess, Leila, and Rene, those three are high-level powerhouses. A normal army couldn’t handle them. Maybe they can’t wipe out an entire organized army, but breaking through and escaping wouldn’t be too hard. And if they can’t take down the strong ones, what’s the point of killing the weak ones? That would just make them look guilty and cause more trouble.”
“Exactly right.”
Clearly pleased with her dragon’s thoughtful answer, Violet stood on tiptoe and smiled as she patted Xiao Guang’s head.
“That point you just made, I'm sure the leaders of the Austre Empire have thought of it too. So if they do plan something against our group, they definitely won’t be stupid enough to send soldiers openly. After all, even in war, it’s unacceptable to kill messengers. And right now, both countries are still technically at peace.”
“Then… what will they do?”
Violet smiled gently.
“Use others to do their dirty work. Stir up enemies and let someone else attack us. That’s all. We just have to sit back and watch the show.”
After a short walk, as the sky fully turned to night, Violet and her dragon girl companion returned to the camp where the Holy Empire’s delegation was staying. The tents were already set up, and bright campfires were burning all around. The smell of food and hot soup filled the air, carried by the night breeze. It made everyone’s mouth water.
Even from far away, Violet could see two maids in black-and-white uniforms working seriously by one of the campfires, carefully preparing the food. Even now, they didn’t slack off.
Those two were Mia and Selna, the maids who had been with her since they left Sainz.
Violet had chosen to travel with this group from the Holy Academy on their journey to the Holy Empire’s Capital, the Angel City, partly to catch up with old friends she hadn’t seen in a long time.
But she also had another reason. She wanted to personally cross the wild, chaotic buffer zone between the Holy Empire and Austre Empire. Along the way, she hoped to take a look at the ancient ruins not far from there, where the remains of the [World-Eater Serpent] were said to be buried.
From what she had heard from Minchen and others in the know, Violet had already learned the exact location of the battlefield from the war between the gods and mythical creatures 300 years ago.
Originally, she planned to travel east through the Holy Empire to check it out. But then, she had to leave suddenly to fight off the surprise invasion of the Demon Lords of [Chaos] in the Void, and after that, she received a message from Hen and went to the Ancient Spirit Realm instead.
It had been over a year since then. Many things had happened, but Violet had not forgotten the source of the disaster that nearly wiped out the mythical beings from the world, the remains of the Serpent. The arrival of Minchen’s group of otherworldly travelers 300 years ago had changed too much, and many secrets still remained unsolved.
So, after all that wandering, Violet had finally set out again on the path to those ruins.