"Wake up—now!"
Kurose Akira shook Marei Lein awake from her deep sleep, desperate for an answer.Just what exactly had this dragon done while he was unconscious?
"What is it, human?"Marei Lein slowly opened her crimson dragon eyes and replied coldly.
"What did you do while I was asleep?" Akira demanded, staring straight at her.
"Hmph~ I helped you put out the fire. You should be thanking me. And yet you question me so rudely?"Marei Lein shot back, clearly displeased.
"Put out… the fire?"Akira frowned deeply and pressed on."Why was there a fire in the first place? And how did you put it out?"
"Of course I stomped it out! I even used a human form so I wouldn't hurt you. Hurry up and kneel to thank me!"Marei Lein crossed her arms proudly over her chest as she spoke.
At the same time, her dragon tail swayed happily behind her.
Hearing this, Akira was momentarily speechless.
A dragon—the very symbol of destruction—Actually needed to step on a flame to extinguish it?
Shouldn't a single breath have been enough?
You're really asking for it, aren't you?
"What are you doing, human?! Are you trying to rebel?"
"Get down!"
"Human! You—! Let go of me!"
(What follows is a scene of disciplining the dragon. Approximately one hundred words omitted…)
Soon, time shifted to the afternoon of the next day.
Akira returned home from school and casually tossed his backpack onto the bed.
However, instead of entering the game right away, he picked up his phone and checked his group chat.
Group Chat — Elf Squad:
Piggy Who Loves Desserts: I'm all ready! We can leave anytime!Kanai's Bunny: Let's go! With Akira here, we'll definitely clear this B-rank quest!Piggy Who Loves Desserts: Mm-hmm!Colorful Husky: ? Who changed the group name?
Akira stared at the screen in confusion.When did his nickname become "Colorful Husky"?
That had to be Liu Xue's doing!
So childish!
Akira put his phone down and logged into the game.
When he entered, he saw Ivsha and the others already waiting in the guild hall. Only Lucia hadn't arrived yet.
Where was the Saintess?
"Guild Master!"
At that moment, Phry and Phlo noticed Akira arriving and jogged over excitedly.
"What's wrong?"Akira asked the elf sisters.
"Guild Master, we're planning to undergo the blessing of the World Tree," Phry replied.
"Mhm!"Phlo nodded lightly as well."As long as we receive the World Tree's blessing, our mana will become much purer!"
"And then we'll be able to help you even more, Guild Master!"
Hearing this, Akira smiled and gently rubbed the sisters' heads with both hands.
"Then I'll be counting on your performance."
"Mhm!""Yes!"
"However…"Phry and Phlo exchanged a glance, then looked back at Akira.
"Guild Master, the World Tree's blessing may take an entire week. That means we probably won't be able to come to the guild for seven days."
"A week?"Akira hadn't expected the ritual to last that long.
That meant he wouldn't see these two little ones for a whole week?
Still, this was an opportunity for them to grow stronger. There was no way he would stop them.
"This is a rare chance. I won't let you miss it—go for it. Of course, if I miss you, I'll come visit you in the Elf Kingdom."Akira smiled.
And while he was there…He could also pay a visit to their mother.
"Thank you for your support, Guild Master!"Phry and Phlo expressed their gratitude upon hearing that Akira agreed to let them spend a full week receiving the World Tree's blessing.
"When does the blessing start?" Akira asked.
"Tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow?"Akira thought for a moment, then said,"Then today, the two of you can accompany me on one last mission to the Elf Kingdom."
"Okay!"The elf sisters nodded enthusiastically.
This time, Akira didn't plan to bring many people.
Their purpose in the Elf Kingdom was simply to rescue the dark elves imprisoned in the Umbral Prison.If possible, they would avoid combat altogether.
So the fewer people, the better.
As for why he was bringing Phry and Phlo—Naturally, it was to use them as internal contacts, gathering intelligence on the elves' movements.
Besides them, the only guild member Akira intended to bring was Marei Lein.
The White Elf Queen had warned him that magic suppression might occur inside the Umbral Prison. In that case, Marei Lein—with her overwhelmingly powerful physical body—was the best choice.
As for Loserine and the others, Akira assigned them the remaining two D-rank quests. Once he returned, they could proceed with the special commission to upgrade their evaluation from D to D+.
The only thing that puzzled him was—
Why hadn't Lucia shown up today?
He immediately sent her a message and received a brief reply:
Busy today. I'll come tomorrow.
"..."
"The Saintess really is busy,"Akira muttered softly, then led Marei Lein and the elf sisters toward the Elf Kingdom.
A flash of white light passed—
And Akira arrived in the Elf Kingdom.
As agreed, Liu Xue and the others were waiting near the statue of the Elf Queen.
Akira walked toward the statue, but when he looked at it from afar—That sacred symbol of the Elf Queen's purity—
The image of the Dark Elf Queen being conquered by holy light in last night's dream surfaced in his mind.
Absolutely breathtaking…
"Akira~!"
Liu Xue stood beneath the statue, waving at him from afar.
Beside her stood the female elf Vinnie and a female centaur warrior.
This centaur warrior was different from the one accompanying Xu Feiyan. Likely due to age, her build wasn't as towering as Azkman's—probably only enough room for one girl to ride on her back.
For a tall man like Akira, she would even seem a bit petite.
She had refreshing dark-green short hair, wore heavy armor, and carried a signature long spear—very much the classic image of a centaur warrior.
"Princess?!"When Akira approached Liu Xue, the elf Vinnie immediately dropped into a kneeling salute toward Phry and Phlo.
"No need for that—please, get up,"Phlo quickly helped Vinnie to her feet.
"You recruited elves too?"Liu Xue looked at the two elves beside Akira, surprise written across her face.
The last time they'd met was during the special mission against the slimes—back then, there had only been Ivsha…
And now, Akira had two princess-class elves at his side, and one more—
Liu Xue's gaze shifted to Marei Lein, a trace of confusion flickering in her clear, dark eyes.
Is that… a half-dragon?
"Just good luck,"Akira said with a faint smile. Then he looked at the centaur warrior next to Liu Xue."So this is the epic-rank adventurer you recruited?"
"That's right!"Mentioning the centaur, Liu Xue immediately looked proud."Sophie possesses the strongest centaur bloodline! Even though she's only level 20, her combat power already surpasses many level 25 adventurers!"
"Nice to meet you."The centaur Sophie offered Akira a friendly smile.
"Likewise,"Akira replied with a smile, then casually asked,"Do you know Azkman?"
"Azkman?"Sophie paused, then answered,"She's one of the ten guardians of our race. But recently… something happened that caused tension between her branch and ours."
"May I ask what happened?"Akira frowned slightly and asked.
"This…"Sophie glanced at Akira, then at Liu Xue.
After receiving Liu Xue's confirmation—assuring her that Akira could be trusted—Sophie finally spoke.
"Our race recently gave birth to a child who was born with an innate domain. Normally, she would've become the next clan leader and received the full support of the tribe. However…"
Sophie fell silent for a long time before continuing.
"Her biological traits showed that she wasn't a pure-blooded centaur. As a result, she was expelled from the clan."
"She wasn't a centaur… but rather… a half-deer."