"N-No, no, how could a d-dragon be here?!" The first thug was shaking violently, losing the strength to even stand straight. "T-This must not be real!"
ROAR!
"HWAAAA! MERCY!!!" The first thug cried in fear after the dragon roared once again, this time, he passed out instantly with his mouth foaming like crazy. The two thugs next to him were not in a better situation. The second one even peed on his pants uncontrollably, while the third one had already run as far away as possible.
Meanwhile, the City Lord's daughter also had her face turned pale when she saw the presence of a dragon in front of her. After all, Dragon was a legendary beast that only the best adventurers would encounter, and she didn't know how it could even get here. Still, the horror of getting suppressed by such a gigantic beast was enough to give her a nightmare in the future.
"Don't worry, it would be okay." Ilya smiled, patting the girl's shoulder gently. The City Lord's daughter didn't know where Ilya got her calmness and confidence from, but right in the next second, Ilya just rolled her eyes exasperatedly before shouting, "Don't you think that your trick is a little bit exaggerated? Look, you even scare her here! Come out and apologize!" She scolded.
The City Lord's daughter just stared at her confusedly, not knowing who Ilya was talking about. However, in the next second, she got the answer she wanted to, as the dragon suddenly disappeared out of nowhere, getting replaced by a young, handsome man that she was a little bit familiar with.
"Hello, Beautiful Lady. If I could choose, I would want to meet you again on a better occasion, not wanting to see tears ruining your charming smile. Unfortunately, fate is a cruel mistress, huh?" The young man kneeled dramatically, kissing the back of her hand like a chivalrous knight. Of course, this gesture alone was enough to make a young girl like her go crazy.
"A-Ah! O-Oh! T-Thank you…" She squeaked, covering her eyes with both hands in embarrassment.
Ilya who saw this could only roll her eyes in exasperation, not knowing how to handle her little brother's flirting behavior. Inwardly, she also thought, 'Of course, he knows about her. He knows about everyone in this town…' Yeah, unlike her, who was a little bit introverted and having a hard time socializing, Eden was a social butterfly. He knew everyone in this city from the guard in the City Lord's castle to even the beggars on the corner of the road. He was really good at building connections.
"Okay, no need to flirt with her like that. You will make the poor girl pass out, you know?" She rolled her eyes sarcastically.
True enough, the City Lord's daughter was on the last rope before she was about to pass out, and it wasn't because of exhaustion or adrenaline. No, it was because she couldn't handle Eden's flirt game, as he was really a professional at teasing a young girl like her.
This time, though, Ilya didn't scold him too much for doing that. No, she could see that Eden's little act managed to dispel all the negative thoughts in the young girl's mind, letting her forget about her being kidnapped for a moment. This was the distraction that the girl needed, or she would still feel terrified about the thugs who lost consciousness already.
"Oh, no, a strong girl who is not giving up even though she was captured by three thugs will not pass out so easily like that. She is far stronger than any other ordinary girl." Eden said a little bit exaggeratingly. Then, with a sweet smile on his face, he kneeled once again and asked, "If I may ask, can this humble peasant have My Lady's name?"
"Ah! Um… Fiona…" Her voice was so small when she told Eden her name. "Um… Ano… Lord Eden…"
"Psst… Don't call me Lord, Lady Fiona, for this humble peasant is far from being one." The boy put his index finger straight to her lips, which made the girl – Fiona – blush furiously. Ilya who saw this had the urge to beat her little brother straight away. However, when she saw the City Lord's daughter slowly regain her calmness, the girl didn't interrupt at all. "So, what may this humble peasant help you, My Lady?" Eden asked with another extra politeness.
"Ah! Um… Is the dragon before your summon?" Fiona asked. Even though she had never seen it, the girl had heard about a summoner magician who could befriend almost all the beasts from the most tamed to the most dangerous ones. Now, she was curious whether Eden was one of them or not.
"Oh, that? Well, what do you think, My Lady?" Eden smiled mischievously, neither confirming nor denying the fact. However, the young lady had already formed the answer inside her head.
'Amazing… He should be the same age as me, right? To think that he could tame a dragon and use it as his summon… His mana reserve should be far beyond mine… If he is put in the Rosen Magic School, he should be on the upper half, right?'
Eden didn't know that Fiona misunderstood his ability. However, even though he knew about it, he would never correct the wrong assumption. After all, deception was also a part of illusion, and the more people couldn't guess what was going on with his magic, the better it would be for him.
After chatting for a while, the young lady – Fiona – finally stopped shaking from the kidnapping incident earlier. This time, Ilya took over the situation, not letting Eden help the young girl anymore. After all, she knew how dangerous Eden's flirt and pure smile were, as sometimes, she even fell for it and blushed.
However, as she was about to reach the hand of City Lord's daughter, the dark, narrow alley they were currently in was suddenly surrounded by a lot of people here, with most of them wearing the knight armor that showed they came from the City Lord's castle.
"HALT! RAISE BOTH YOUR HANDS AND SURRENDER BEFORE WE TAKE ACTION!"