A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

“Krampf!” A mighty bite and its following groan erupted in the dining hall of a restaurant, drowning out the lively atmosphere of this steakhouse. I tilted my head slightly to the side, as juices shot out from the piece of mammoth steak Kylunavus was devouring like a blood-starved beast.

Disregarding using his utensils—in fact, he had thrown them away completely—the fire dragon that had ranted to my face just an hour ago was eating his meal as if they were chicken drumsticks. His sharp canines tore into the thick slab of meat as if it was butter, ripping out large chunks too big for his dragonewt mouth to fit with a single bite, only to chew on them like a dog relishing on a big bone with meat still hanging on it.

Regardless, this wasn’t a fancy schmancy steakhouse, thankfully. The customers were allowed to eat in any way they wanted, as long as they didn’t interrupt the dining experience of others. Though, there weren’t many who were eating their food with such gusto as Kylunavus. They at least ate their steak by cutting it into slices before grabbing the individual pieces.

“… My lady, would you like my grilled shrimp?” Tasianna pushed her seafood salad to my side without waiting for my answer, turning her head away from our messy table.

“I’m surprised you lost your appetite because of this. Saori and I do this a lot, and this isn’t even mentioning Vifi’s pretty lackluster table manners,” I replied, turning to our demonkin friend who was stuffing her mouth full with mountain goat chops.

“What?” She raised an eyebrow as she spoke with her mouth still full, looking annoyed at how I was giving her a judging look. Her tone pretty much told me, “If you want to make fun of me, then I can make fun of you by breaking your horns.”

Giggling a bit at her fighting intent, I turned back to Tasianna, only to flinch a bit when I saw her eyes droop. Was she tired?

“My lady, there is something charming about you eating that I cannot express with my words. You always look like you’re in bliss after your belly is filled, and Miss Saori has this calculated expression on that makes it look like she’s constantly managing her calorie intake. It’s different from that.” She glared at Kylunavus who had lost interest in everything but his meal. “The only disturbing point whenever your eating instincts appear would be that blank face you make. It makes it easy to know whenever you’re pensive.”

Wh-what? My chest instantly deflated at her statement, causing me to become self-aware of the many times I went silent and just ate whatever was in front of me, without even knowing how much time had passed whenever I reflected on some events. Hearing this now, when I’ve been with Tasianna for nearly two years, sent a chill down my spine.

Lowering my head in shame, I heard Tasianna, Vifi, and Beth chuckling at my expense while the former tried her best to apologize and raise my spirits. To be honest, even if I knew about it, I didn’t think I could fix that bad habit. With my parallel minds, and now Hikari, speaking to myself was just a normal thing to process information and form plans.As I was drinking some water to cool my warmed up head, Shay came back to the table with Fehrkatruk in tow.

“Brother!” The only thing that managed to break Kylunavus’s trance was the arrival of his older brother. With his mouth wet with juices, spices, and some trace of blood, he jumped up from his sofa seat with his hand raised up and his lips forming a wide grin, revealing all the stuff he was still chewing at this very moment.

Yikes, man, come on! Dragon or not, this is a bit too disgusting.

Feeling the same way, Fehrkatruk grabbed one of the table napkins and stuffed it into his younger brother’s mouth and forced him to sit down. “You’re one or two years away from being prepared for your trip to Altrust, and you’re acting like you’re amongst your friends! Unless you want to eat in some rundown tavern at the dark end of a city, swallow before you damn speak!”

Both brothers were in their minor dragonewt forms, right now, so I couldn’t really tell what their transforming race was. However, instead of Draconic, they were currently speaking in Common for my sake. The growliness you would expect did make each word sound like a slur, but it was understandable enough, despite the general noise level of this steakhouse with everybody snarling in Draconic.

With Shay and Fehrkatruk shuffling themselves into the sofa seats of our table, the latter called for a waiter to take his order, as we hadn’t ordered anything for him. Shay, on the other hand, was enjoying the seaweed noodle soup his sister had gotten for him.

“Everything cleared up?” I asked once Fehrkatruk was done.

He nodded, although he let out a long-winded sigh. “That Siegragxus is a real stickler for the law. If it wasn’t for his scent, I would have thought he was a normal scribe or bureaucrat.”

By “normal,” he meant a dragonewt.

As he just said, Sieg arrived promptly after I managed to stop the lower city rumble, handling things for me since I wasn’t too aware of the punishments and what laws the ice and fire dragons had broken. I also got a thumbs up for how I handled the situation, even earning a “thank you” from Sieg for stepping in, instead of ignoring it.

In any case, I would be briefed later on with the full details, as he was still processing everything as he had to talk with the dragons’ guardian and clan. Meanwhile, Sieg had suggested that I bring everybody to a restaurant to help everybody chill out, since fighting would drain everybody’s calories. Talking with an empty belly would only worsen the mood … and I guessed Sieg also wanted to talk with Drakunov and Jadhund about the film, so that was why they weren’t here.

Kylunavus was sitting with me, while the other two fire dragons were devouring their meals with the ice dragon brats. It almost seemed like the conflict from before hadn’t even happened, as the former two were complimenting the meals while the latter were proudly accepting the praises and flattery on behalf of Iceskale.

Not a bad deal, even if the “punishment” seemed pretty lax considering these twelve demolished a good chunk of a neighborhood. I had my grievances. This seemed almost like rich kids or nobles abusing their family’s reputation and prestige to get away with a crime, and I really couldn’t support it evenif it was part of our culture.

Regardless, I didn’t want to let the frustration get to me and just took this chance to speak with Fehrkatruk.

“Haaa, I know I already said it, but thank you for stopping this idiot brother of mine, Princess Hestia,” he said while leaning back on his seat.

“Hestia. Keep it simple. After what you did for me in Inferno Nest, I don’t really have you put me on the pedestal now. Friends shouldn’t do that, right?”

He chortled. “Friends, are we now? At least allies and out of a debt to each other, that’s for sure, but I can accept addressing you differently. I’m still not that bold to treat you like how I treat my other friends with how you’re the hatchling sister of Prince Kahalameet.”

Ooh, that feeling of having your older sibling’s reputation determine how others treat you. It didn’t seem bad, maybe even comical since it made me imagine how people with siblings would act if they attended the same school or stayed in the same city. It was a bit of pride at how influential your eldest was. 𝘙𝐀ΝΟ𝔟Ês̩

“Aside from your clan supporting his rule, do you know him personally?”

“Yes! He is quite a bit younger than me, though. For your information, I’m around Siegragxus’s age—at least over 800,” he explained. “Still, your eldest brother is a hard worker who has been training since he was born. I wouldn’t even say it’s because of your bloodline, even. Considering he is a higher level than I, despite a 300 years age difference, it really tells how much motivation is driving him forward.”

“Exactly! That drive is what we need on the throne!” the younger brother exclaimed, finally cleaning his mouth. “He is the true representation of the Emperor’s will and ambition for the future of Kargryx; the only one worthy of the throne—Mhrmpf!”

“Shut it, will you!” Fehrkatruk chided, stuffing another napkin into his mouth. “Doesn’t matter how she feels about it, don’t just trumpet that opinion on yours in front of Frozen Nest’s princess. People’s ears are sharp here; don’t make it harder on us.”

In a way, what Kylunavus was doing was similar to supporting one governor candidate inside a bar that supported the opposing one. It was just asking for a beating, and while nobody I saw reacted to it, I couldn’t tell what they were thinking about it. I should raise my voice on this matter.

“I support a bloodless succession, so it really doesn’t matter to me which of my elder siblings gets crowned. I’m too young, anyways, to become empress and taking the throne will only stop me from doing what I love the most, and that is to spread my music to others,” I stated, causing Fehrkatruk to chuckle under his breath.

“Yeah … heard it twice, already. Third, if you count your bravery in telling that to Maustoovaka’s face when he was threatening to stay away from everything.” He smiled, looking pretty happy about it, although hearing this only reminded me why I wanted to talk to him.

“I want to—”

He raised his hand. “Both my parents understood at that moment that Maustoovaka had lost his mind. Father knew the risk and he martyred himself to expose Inferno Nest’s current problems. It harms Prince Kahalameet’s chances, but it has to get out how manipulative and willing to spill blood Maustoovaka is. If our sacrifice helps Prince Kahalameet gain wisdom for the sake of Kargryx, then Clan Kleodrastia is happy to have served our prince.”

Sadly, it didn’t seem like both brothers were on board, as Kyluvanus turned his head away. Fehrkatruk saw this but could only soften his stare in worry, before turning back to me with a sigh.

“So—”

“So, if you wish to respect my partner’s memory, then I would only suggest that you grow into a respectable princess so you might support your sibling’s role as ruler.”

Our heads snapped around to the front of our seat, noticing a red-scaled dragonewt standing over us. However, unlike the brothers, this woman was in her [Elvenize (Moderate)] form, showing off her lightly tanned skin with those ruby scales of hers. I couldn’t recognize this person at all, despite her familiar tone and scent, but it only took me a moment to see the positions and shape of her horns to realize this was the matriarch of the Kleodrastia clan—the brothers’ mother, Sierranavus.

“Mother? So you managed to settle things with the administrator?” Fehrkatruk said, probably talking about how Sieg had to talk with the hooligans’ parents or clan guardian.

She shrugged as a dragonewt waiter brought over a chair for her to sit on. “Mostly … Lord Alextraxus will hear about it, which is the issue I wanted to avoid. I managed to avoid any real penalty to our clan, but the three from Clan Kleodratia and Rexmardr will participate in a joint training session with the ice dragonflight.”

“Mother—” Kylunavus was about to protest, but he was silenced by his mother’s glare and aura, forcing him to sit down with a whimper. His two friends didn’t even try to speak up, only perking up their ears to receive their slap on the hand.

“It was my idea, to help our clans assimilate to Frozen Nest. Even if you do not like it, we are now retainers to the Dragon Ruler of Ice, and as such, are now subordinates to Dragon Empress Melloxtressa and her daughter, Princess Hestia. Speak with respect while you are in her presence, otherwise I will order your brother to really increase the difficulty of your weekly training sessions!” she asserted. “This is now our home, my hatchling.”

Seeing Kylunavus’s dejected face deepening did hit my heart, as I could imagine the hardship it was to move away from your home. As a vagabond up until now, saying goodbye had always hurt me, even with the invention of my subspace [Room]. However, these refugees were forced from their homes, away from all their relationships and schedules to adapt to a foreign land’s customs, laws, and also to overcome the historic antagonism between fire and ice dragonkin.

Regardless of how I disliked his rowdiness, I couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for him. Families with a constantly moving military parent probably would feel the same stress he must be in.

Although change was good, the frustrations of it could easily fuel anger.

“Then why are we treated like this, Mother?” Kylunavus snarled, leaving both his brother and mother silent as he tightened his hands into fists. “We are living on what we managed to snatch away from our nest before running away from Father’s murderer. We are treated like pariahs here, not even given some duty to fulfill. This isn’t our home; I won’t accept it!”

He feels just like me … Jumping into Peolynca after my reincarnation sure felt alien.

[“My lady.”] Tasianna interrupted my thoughts. [“If I may speak, I believe this would involve Frozen Nest’s peace. Disgruntled dragons are a danger to themselves and to others, that is without a doubt. Considering Lady Sierravanus’s situation, would it not be prudent to possibly use your newly acquired authority here?”]

I frowned, knowing she was right. [“I know, but how? I can’t force people to like them. If you wish for others’ approval, you need to prove it and show them. Forcing the matter would only worsen things.”]

That was how the entertainment biz worked. Brute forcing things had consequences and these repercussions would only slam right into your face in the future; that impatience would only bring you to ruin.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

[“This wouldn’t be the time to think of it from the perspective of an idol, my lady,”] Tasianna suggested. [“You are their princess. They do show respect to you, and so do Iceskale’s citizens. You may not have enamored both sides completely, but your influence is enough to sway some people. Think. What could you provide that they cannot obtain with their own might?”]

What could they want the most right now? … Hold on, didn’t Kylunavus say something like that?

“That reminds me, didn’t you say something about ‘not having a duty?’” I interjected, prompting the young fire dragon to look at me. “By ‘duty,’ you mean a job. A profession, right? Or are you talking about serving somebody?”

“A job, of course,” he snickered, as if that wasn’t obvious enough. “Tsk, my mother is an ancient, not to mention her siblings. My brother and some of my cousins have hardened their scales for a few centuries as well. What else would I be talking about but work? Emperor’s horns, what sorta ques—”

“Will you just shut it!” Fehrkatruk snarled, silencing his brother. Shaking his head in derision, he patted his young brother’s shoulder rather harshly to release his anger. “She’s asking you a normal question. Unless you forgot about it, she’s a whelpling. Under five years. She might be around your age mentally, but that doesn’t mean she has the common sense of a dragon who has lived on Kargryx for her entire life. This concerns long-living species like us, not to a formerly short-lived one.”

Grumbling, Kylunavus turned back to me, getting his brother’s message. In a less impatient tone, he explained, “Elder scales need stimulus, that much you should know at least, right? The older you get, the less things will excite your mind and body, which will inevitably cause lethargy on the soul. That tires you down and causes dragons to hibernate for so long, until they seem more like walking corpses than not. If you want a proper example, take our Emperor’s health.”

“Our family gains our wealth through enchantments,” Fehrkatruk added. “Inferno Nest has its own dragonewt city in Loatryx, reserved for our elemental flight and wake, and that means we periodically need to maintain the levitation enchantments on our floating cities. The Kleodrastia and Rexmardr clan were the ones responsible for such a duty, and we take pride in the fact we are one of the best in the field. Honestly, we might not be as progressive as the ones in Aleistunum, but our enchantments are stable, fast to make, and reliable.”

“Not like it’s that big of a boast,” his younger brother interrupted. “The formula for the levitation enchantment has been perfected by the dark dragonflight, so every single one used on Miononbolax is the same. It’s still our job, though, and I’ve seen your enchanters. Rather slow.”

“Then why can’t you get hired, then?”

“Because nobody wants us!” Kylunavus spat out.

“Also, because there is a lack of demand for more enchanters,” his mother replied, causing her son to grumble again. “As he said, the magic circles for our various enchantments are the same throughout the continent. Empress Forminaxtrass and her people lead our magical innovations, but … if everything works, why change anything? I do not want to sound like a hypocrite, but there is no reason for change if the motivation isn’t there.”

“Oh … no wonder she had such a face when we talked about the recorder!” Beth’s body perked up as she remembered that fact.

Reminded of this, the light bulb in my head finally flashed! “Huh, then I guess your clan has been looking in the wrong place, then. We do have a demand for new enchanters.”

This time, I shocked the fire dragons into silence. Smirking, I continued.

“My new industry, in fact. I recently pitched to my retainer uncles about something I’m quite passionate about and we just performed our first maiden usage of it. The ability to record moments in your life to watch them later on.” I pulled out my new camera and activated my party bracelet, letting them watch the music video Hikari had recently recorded. “The digital media guild—that is its name. A ton of stuff is still a trade secret until you join us. While the production isn’t active yet, as we need to recruit local artificers, alchemists, blacksmiths, and enchanters, my uncle retainers are convinced this will cause a storm! This is something to invigorate Frozen Nest’s economy.”

“And you want to hire us for this?” The three tilted their heads with a mix of confusion and interest.

I nodded. “Nothing is fully set in stone yet. The headquarters are on Altrust with Ankor-Nazta, Saelariel, and Artorias working hand-to-hand to make it work. Meaning, the production process isn’t perfected yet and there is still room for it to evolve. If you really think you are good, then isn’t this the time to show and prove it? That you are valuable to Iceskale, and not just hot air. Prove it by being immortalized in our meeting reports!”

Stunned only by a moment by my proclamation, the three instantly turned to each other, staring at the other as if they were talking with [Telepathy]. In fact, that might have been the case as they deliberated for quite a while, long enough that Fehrkatruk’s meal had arrived. Sniffing the meal, they stopped there to let him eat, meanwhile, their mother looked at me with a smile.

“Acceptable. If you can sort this out for us, then we would be in your debt.”

“Nonsense. Your husband risked everything for my safety, not to mention, he even helped my brother get away from that tyrant. This is the minimum and something I should have done early … although, speaking to you earlier probably wouldn’t have led to such a fortunate proposal,” I joked, prompting the ancient dragon to nod before turning to her sons.

“Thank you, Hestia. We’ll make sure to do you right in this,” Fehrkatruk said, creating a segue for his younger brother to speak. When that didn’t lead to anything as the latter was trying to look away, even taking a glimpse at his steak to comfort him, his older brother nudged him softly until the Kylunavus eventually caved in.

“… Thanks. Sorry, for what I said before. I shouldn’t have vented all my troubles at you and made you seem at fault for everything.”

I smiled, but I couldn’t help but feel bad about hearing it. “Even if it was your father’s choice, he still died for my sake. That, alone, is true. Maustoovaka … the fact he won’t be properly punished for everything sickens me.”

“I appreciate hearing that,” Sierravanus stated. “I want him dead; dead before my young son ventures out on his pilgrimage. I want my family to witness his final moments and know that my husband did not die in vain for his ideals. If I have to fight him, then so be it.”

“Mother …” Fehrkatruk furrowed his brows, mouth wavering as he tried to say something, only to be stopped by his mother’s shaking head.

“It has to be said.” She then turned back to me. “Princess Hestia, my husband has briefed me about you to understand who you are, or at least, how you wish to present yourself. You rejected my offer once, yet that won’t stop me. I will present it again.”

“I think my mother had said enough,” I argued, but the fire in this dragon’s eyes did not wane. In fact, hearing me refuse her again had only lit her amber-colored eyes brighter.

“Yet, you’ve seen what a fool Maustoovaka is! History is repeating itself before us, yet nobody is willing to take a stand against this rising inferno!” Her voice turned into growls with her expression becoming more feral in appearance. It almost looked like she was turning into a beast without her [Elvenize]. “The strong and ambitious want to influence an imperial heir to force their ideals onto the throne. This is what caused the first civil war with the Dragon Ruler of Light wanting to establish a dynasty between fire and light!”

She slammed the table, causing it to crack, but she didn’t take note of it. “Maustoovaka and Arkanator believe they are doing what is the best for Kargryx, and while I do believe that, they are proceeding in the wrong direction. Your sister, Wendriosa, too is enthralled by the leviathans, as they wish to conquer our continent to prove that leviathans can take over the land and skies, but that we dragons cannot take over the oceans. This rivalry fuels them, and if it has to be through a hybrid, then so be it. Regardless of whose side you wish to support, both enforce their agendas on the imperial heir, as they require the people’s aid for their campaigns. I told you, lack of information is a weakness!”

“Are you telling me the recently established ocean blockade in the south is part of this plan?” I asked, prompting her to nod her head.

“Inferno Nests knows this. They understand Wendriosa is a pawn desperate for power to achieve her goals, but that doesn’t mean she is innocent in this. She accepts the leviathans; she must know the risks. After all, you would be a fool to underestimate the empresses,” she asserted. “They are not allowed to intervene in the succession crisis due to their biases, but they are allowed to circumvent matters to reduce the damage to the empire. Empress Gyadiosa must have told her son and daughter, yet the latter continues? Why? Desperation. This young dragon is flaunting whatever authority she has as she knows the moment she lets go of it, her brother will stomp down on her ambitions and leave her in the rot … That same sort of envy is what caused Emperor Eltharion’s brother to turn to the Dragon Ruler of Light for ‘comfort.’”

‘Once you taste power, letting it go isn’t that easy,’ Empress Forminaxtrass said. That’s what caused the civil war, and it’s supposedly happening again? ‘History will repeat itself’ … I wonder what Saori would think of this.

“Maustoovaka intends to teach Wendriosa this lesson, even thinking of slaying her if needed. He wanted to teach Kahalameet such a possibility is true; fortunately, your random appearance elucidated the truth to your brother, so now we can only hope he distances himself from Inferno Nest’s ruler for a bit,” she continued, her fervor still not fading. “As I said, we knew what Wendriosa’s leviathan supporters wanted to do and this sea blockade was one of them. They took advantage of the instability in Inferno Nest to expedite everything.”

“Then why did you not say anything earlier? From what I heard, it was a complete surprise to the empress-mothers.” I squinted, feeling the seeds of doubts starting to sprout.

Undeterred by my suspicion, she kept going. “Maustoovaka wanted to use this to teach Kahalameet, while those who supported a bloodless succession were still loyal to Maustoovaka at that point. Let me remind you what he told you—you are a crux of uncertainty. You are an unwanted and unexpectant enigma in everybody’s plan, with nobody able to predict your move at this point with your ability to rally both the ice and light dragon flights. All your other siblings are done taking a side or an ideal, but you personally said you are willing to do anything to stop a bloody succession. That means you are willing to stop whosoever plan, and everybody should be afraid as your word can be the deciding point for this crisis.”

“… As I can call upon Frozen and Sacred Nest for help,” I answered, earning me a satisfied nod. However, I was still not convinced. “Then, you want my power to kill Maustoovaka. I do agree that he has to be taken down, but killed? What sort of bloodless affair is this? Still, say we follow your plan, what’s next? Regicide can topple the order of a kingdom, and I presume the same will be the case for Inferno Nest even if the Dragon Ruler of Volcanoes remains alive. What happens next?”

“Another dragon ruler will take his place. Hopefully someone who isn’t as radical.”

“Are you interested in it?”

“You assume I am ambitious? Greedy for the title?” she tilted her head. “Young whelpling, I am too old for such ambitions. I only wish that my husband’s death be avenged. Any ambition I had ended when I attempted to become your mother’s subordinate. It would mean having the same authority as a dragon ruler, but having none of the obligations of one. I am content under Lord Alextraxus. Our clan’s standing hasn’t changed, switching from one dragon ruler to the next.”

“I see …” I nodded as I felt my lips curved downward. “Then you have no plan. You only seek revenge, and you want my help for it? It sounds like you want to create chaos.”

Desperate for power, an imperial heir reached their hand out to somebody with a plan and influence, believing they both shared the same vision. It almost felt like I was being persuaded by somebody with a silver tongue. That the same fact was happening to me, right now? Well, sadly for her, I wasn’t that willing to do everything to stop things.

“Let’s just leave it here, all right?” I demanded, giving the fire dragon matriarch a glare that told her my current mood concerning this topic. “I do appreciate the information, but I still do not want to kill Maustoovaka, even if he is an asshole. This goes back to what I told you—I do not want to damage the chances of my siblings. I want them to view me as a neutral no matter what.”

Finally accepting this last rejection, the dragon leaned her back on her chair, that amber glow in her eyes finally deciding to surrender for now. “I do not like this decision of yours, your highness. You should not reject knowledge.”

“Am I? Or am I simply rejecting going deeper into your plot.” I tilted my head, prompting her to squint at me. “For all I know, you just chastised and criticized my brother and sister for falling for the honeyed words of two factions. Should I willingly show you my favor when I just gave you a job? When I don’t know who you are? I am not rejecting information here, in fact, I want to know. These leviathans—what are they planning? You teased me long enough; just say it.”

She leaned forward. “Take this as my show of loyalty and willingness to become part of Frozen Nest,”—In a whisper, she continued—“The leviathans wish to bring down the barrier around the island.”

“Why?”

“You call me the chaos maker, but you completely ignore the ones actually wishing for our empire to collapse. Without the barrier for protection, can the ice dragon flight ignore the battles that will soon consume our continent?” She backed away, raising her hand up. “Enough. I do not know how they will do it. Waitress! I am ready to order!” Once the waitress walked away from our table, the fire dragon turned back to me. “I shall pay, your highness.”

The cards were on the table, and just like Tasianna, I lost my appetite. I called the waitress back and asked her for some boxes to take the food with us as we left the Kleodrastia clan for their meal. I said my farewells, including to the fire and ice dragonkin at the other table, and told them I would see them next when their jobs would officially begin.

As we were heading out, Tasianna tucked on my cape. “I think you did a fine job representing yourself, Iceskale, and your mother there, Lady Hestia. Those times back on Altrust really have molded you into a capable diplomat.”

“Yes. You chose the correct time to speak about it, my lady,” Shay added. “Speaking in front of the other ancient elder scales, the Kleodrastia matriarch would keep her opinions to herself, but to a whelpling? I believe we shared the same thought at the end.”

“How a young scale desperate to make change would cling to others?” Beth tilted her head. “Maybe she understood the irony of her statement once you confronted her about it, Lady Hestia. She really didn’t look like she wanted to continue indulging you.”

“It had to be said,” I replied. “I’m more surprised she thought I wouldn’t speak back and just take in whatever she told me at face value. Then again, I told myself to not be so assertive when confronting rank S dragons so the same thing with Maustoovaka wouldn’t repeat, but I guess I can’t help myself. Urgh, next time, we need to do this at the mansion, not in some random restaurant. And, Shay, it really was just a mistake on my part. I really shouldn’t have allowed her to start talking about Maustoovaka.”

“The walls are thin,” Vifi added, rubbing her tummy with a satisfied smile. “I recognized a few of the dragonewt inside, so what you did meant Alextraxus will hear about it. Let him concern himself about the leviathan for now. Not like what she said could happen.”

I did not have the finer details of how Thalaxarus’s blizzard actually worked with his corpse and mana and so. I couldn’t agree or disagree with Vifi and simply shrugged it off.

As we left the steakhouse, I stopped my group when I noticed six red-scaled dragonewts approach and bow before us. These weren’t strangers, nor the servants of the Kleodrastia dragons; these were my temporary retainers—the wyverns from Inferno Nest.

“Rego! You guys are back!” I smiled as Shay and Beth moved forward, standing next to me as the six wyverns all stood up.

“Rego,” or “Regolustrus” was the name I gave to the fire wyvern leader after his interrogation by the twins and the dragoon order. That suspicion Shay showed, thinking that Regolustrus were sent in to spy on me when they wanted to become my retainers back on Inferno Nest, was confirmed to not be true after some heavy questioning the six fire wyverns endured.

It was all a misunderstanding, in other words. It wasn’t Shay’s fault for thinking like that, but I also wanted him to take responsibility for accusing them after I learned it, as I also thought it would be a great time for him to grow a bit. Similar to how I grew up acting as Aurora’s leader, I wanted something similar to happen to him, not to mention, giving him a chance to get over his own insecurities.

Mom only had a few retainers, and the fact she made the twins one of them was a pretty lonely fact. In all but name, they were practically mine, though, as Mom ordered them to be my guards. Therefore, why not make Shay and Beth my wyvern squad captain? It helped those two grow with the responsibility and it also helped me that I didn’t have to manage them personally with my workload.

This was what happened a few days ago, and these six had just returned to Iceskale after I had sent them down to Coral Beard per Mom’s request. Apparently, there was a letter I had to pick up that Mom couldn’t send me with the subspace.

“Yes, my lady,” the fire wyvern nodded before handing Tasianna the letter to inspect before it was handed to me. Once I thanked him, he turned to Shay to report what happened, leaving me to open and read the letter.

It’s from Kahalameet. ‘Hestia, I will be visiting to train you in one month. Do not tell this to anybody so this information doesn’t get leaked. I will bring you your instruments at that time, so please await me. Your eldest, Kahalameet.’

The secrecy … was something happening that required it?