[Vol. 9] Chapter 93: Left and Right Embrace
Gore Fortress, the main road outside the north gate.
Rows of fully loaded wagons were parked by the roadside. The beasts pulling them lowered their heads calmly to eat the hay, snorting out warm white mist as they prepared for departure.
“Handle it like this, then go.”
“Yes, Big Sister!”
“Phew…”
After giving her orders, the tall ice demon girl let out a quiet breath. She gazed at the endless mountains and snow at the far end of the road, as if looking into another world, before walking toward one especially elegant and finely decorated carriage. She lifted the thick curtain and poked her head inside, reporting softly.
“Everything has been arranged. The convoy will depart soon. Do you have any other instructions?”
Inside the carriage were three young women. Two of them, a blonde and a blue-haired girl sitting across from each other playing chess, looked more mature. They only glanced briefly at the newcomer and then ignored her. The other, a younger black-haired girl wearing a white robe, put down the book in her hands and smiled warmly.
“You did great. Thank you for your hard work.”
“It’s nothing! Everyone’s happy to help with this kind of thing. Then I’ll get back to work, please call me if you need anything.”
The ice demon girl shook her head. Her expression stayed calm as usual, but the flash of warmth and gratitude in her eyes didn’t escape the three inside. Still, she seemed like a quiet type. After shaking her head slightly, she secretly glanced at the two girls with dragon horns, then quickly lowered the curtain and left.
Only after her footsteps faded away did the blonde dragon girl turn her head, looking at her master with curiosity.
“Master, you’re really not going with Hongyan and that other person? I thought you were joking earlier, it’s rare for everyone to meet again after so long.”
The black-haired girl smiled and shook her head.
“They have their own missions. Our goals are different, and if we travel together, it’ll only cause trouble for each other. That little girl is growing fast, with Minchen secretly protecting her, it’ll be fine.”
“Oh… then what about that new little cat you picked up? Why aren’t you taking her along either?”
“That’s because… cough, cough—!”
Violet, who had been about to answer without thinking, suddenly realized something was wrong and choked on her own saliva, coughing hard.
“W-What do you mean little cat! Why are you calling Moraya that? I’ve only just met her, we’re just normal friends, okay?”
“Hm? But Master, I don’t remember saying who the little cat was, did I?”
“Ah—uh…”
The priestess froze, staring at the dragon goddess’s teasing, half-smiling face that clearly said ‘I’ll just watch you talk yourself into a trap.’ She finally realized she’d walked right into it, and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Seriously, where did you learn this kind of nonsense from? How did my cute and obedient dragon suddenly get so sneaky— Hey, Alexia! What’s with that smug grin? Don’t tell me you’re the one teaching her weird stuff behind my back? I can’t believe it! You look so well-behaved, but you’re secretly this bad!”
“Eh? Eh! W-wait, Lady Violet! It’s not my fault! Don’t tickle me— ahahaha! Hahaha!!!”
……………………………
In short, after a round of wild chaos, so noisy that anyone outside might have suspected something very inappropriate was happening inside. The carriage, which had almost been torn apart by two dragons and one priestess, finally returned to calm.
Sitting calmly on the soft seat, the priestess lady brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face. She then looked at the blue dragon girl, who had just served as her “punching bag” and now looked much more miserable, her face flushed and breathing quick, and cleared her throat as if nothing had happened, pretending to scold seriously.
“Let this be a lesson. Next time, don’t say weird things in front of Xiao Guang, understand?”
“Ugh… I’m sorry…”
Frightened by her “authority,” Miss Alexia could only nod obediently, lowering her head as she weakly began tidying up the chessboard that had been messed up during the commotion. Meanwhile, Violet turned to her other dragon girl, whose face was also slightly red, clearly surprised by her master’s sudden “aggressive” behavior and beckoned softly.
“Come, sit next to me. Let’s talk about something serious.”
Look at that! If that’s not favoritism, what is?!
The blue dragon rolled her eyes but didn’t dare show even a hint of complaint. Violet ignored the little gossip-loving dragon entirely, since Moraya had been mentioned, she wanted to ask Xiao Guang’s opinion about something. After all, in some ways, her senses were sharper than her own.
As her closest partner, the dragon girl naturally understood her master’s personality. The moment she saw that look on Violet’s face, she guessed her intention. Stepping closer to her side, she spoke first.
“So, Master also feels that snow woman is kind of strange?”
“Strange… hmm, that word isn’t wrong.”
The priestess nodded slightly, then took out a strange staff from her pack, made of pale white bone, with a deep black crystal embedded at the top. Even though the golden runes glowing on its surface sealed away its aura, just looking at it was enough to sense the thick, ominous power inside.
This staff, of course, was the trophy Xiao Guang and Alexia had taken from the black-robed man who controlled the Calamity Beasts during their ambush above the frozen sea.
In fact, the series of incidents that happened one after another since they arrived in the northern region was not a coincidence. Back during the Calamity Beast attack at Nofenburg, Violet had already guessed that someone was secretly behind it, deliberately luring the beasts into her path.
At that time, however, the priestess didn’t yet know who the enemy was or what their goal might be. Since she was new to the region and still unfamiliar with many things, she chose not to act rashly, which let the hidden “rat” escape for the time being. The reason she asked Xiao Guang and Alexia to stay behind was mainly to continue investigating this matter.
She still didn’t know exactly what the enemy was trying to achieve, or why that hidden world reacted to Moraya’s appearance. But one thing was certain, if the rats wanted to steal something, they would eventually act again and reveal their true faces. That was the moment Violet had been waiting for.
And sure enough, the fish had finally taken the bait.
The black-haired girl played with the strange bone staff, tossing it lazily up and down as she said casually,
“According to what that guy said, he caused the Calamity Beast attack in Nofenburg because the Twilight Council noticed that we came to the Snow Empire and wanted to test our intentions. How believable do you think that is?”
The dragon girl thought for a moment, then shook her head.
“That kind of weakling fears death too much to dare lie in front of you, Master. But I don’t think he knew everything either. In the end, he was just a disposable pawn.”
“Exactly what I thought~”