Of all places… Siloque rubbed his face and sighed.
In the game, Tiana would randomly choose one of twenty possible locations to build her nest.
He had searched with the explicit goal of finding “the absolute worst possible spot,” and right at the very first location, he’d already found Tiana’s position.
All he could say was that his own bad luck was performing with perfect consistency.
If he could find it this easily, the believers of the Evil Demon Society surely could too.
Although he had warned Tiana and the others that if they ran at full speed they had a ninety-nine percent chance of escaping, the best outcome was still not being discovered at all.
“Brother, Hill heard some sounds. Are Dragon Sis and the others behind that waterfall?”
Hill pointed at the waterfall. From inside came the faint, sharp roars.
“You guessed right.”
Siloque had heard them too.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the sound of magical bombardment, and he didn’t see any signs of fireballs scorching the area nearby.
That meant the Evil Demon Society believers hadn’t found this place yet.
If Tiana hadn’t caught the Evil Demon Society’s attention, this really would be an excellent place to live.
The waterfall served as a natural barrier.
The cavern inside was extremely spacious, divided vertically into three layers.
The third layer had excellent sound insulation—almost no water noise could be heard.
Parts of the ceiling were open to the sky, providing good natural lighting.
The overall terrain rose and fell by about fifty meters, so ordinary monsters wouldn’t approach.
Even Batman would have chosen this as a base.
“Hill, wait here. I’ll go take a look first.”
“Okay!”
Hill planted her tower shield in front of her and stood on guard.
Siloque stepped onto the moss-covered, slippery rocks.
His boots had excellent grip, so he didn’t have to worry about slipping.
He strolled casually to the side of the waterfall, reaching a spot where he could enter the cavern without getting drenched.
Siloque quietly poked his head inside.
“——!!”
Piercing, high-pitched cries echoed repeatedly.
The dominant voice was Edriel’s, full of intense emotion, mixed with Tiana’s exhausted moans.
The interior was unexpectedly bright.
Siloque shielded his eyes with his arm, took a few seconds to adjust, then looked up toward the third layer and saw two scaled, winged lizard-chief creatures locked in close-quarters combat.
Oh my god, that’s—
Sunlight poured down through the skylight, composing a symphony of life.
The dragon girls were engaged in powerful forward-and-backward thrusting motions.
They weren’t just in dragon form—there was also the barely-clothed girl form.
One dragon, one girl, switching positions after each stance: sucking, blowing, occasionally gushing honeyed springs.
The entire cavern was thick with an atmosphere of desire.
So that’s how they play. The game definitely didn’t show scenes like this.
So that’s Edriel in human form. Her hair really is red.
After appreciating the sight for twenty-nine seconds, Siloque—curiosity fully satisfied—silently backed away.
“Hm? This is…”
His hand braced against the cavern wall, and a sticky, viscous liquid flowed onto it—completely transparent with a faint white tint.
Siloque’s face darkened with black lines.
He glanced around; the cavern was covered in the stuff.
He felt genuinely relieved he hadn’t let Hill come in.
He quickly left the entrance, careful not to get hit by the waterfall, returned to the pool’s edge to reunite with Hill, and scooped up some ice-cold water to wash his hands.
“How was it? Are Dragon Sis and the others inside?”
“…They are, but it’s not a good time to disturb them right now.”
“Are they eating lunch?”
“Lunch… heh, you could say that. Edriel is currently devouring Tiana single-handedly, leaving nothing behind.”
“? Brother, are you doing a Riddler impression? And what was that sound anyway—did someone stub their toe?”
“Uh… it’s probably better if we find another way to call Tiana out.”
Faced with Siloque’s cryptic reply, a question mark practically floated above Hill’s head.
“Then Hill will go look—”
Siloque placed a hand on Hill’s shoulder.
“Brother?”
He knew full well that his little sister had already played plenty of eighteen-plus titles.
But this was real life.
He still didn’t want his fourteen-year-old sister to see it.
Looking straight into Hill’s eyes with utmost seriousness, he said:
“The space behind this waterfall right now is not a place we can just barge into. They’re currently in paradise—Adam and Eve… no, Eve and Eve. In short, it’s the myth of girls shining brighter than anyone else…”
What the hell am I even saying…
“Hm…? Eve and Eve… Eden.”
Even to this nonsense, Hill listened seriously.
After tilting her head in thought for a moment:
“Ohhh~ Hill gets it now.”
Her cheeks flushed, and the corners of her mouth curved upward slightly.
“They’re playing a fighting game, right?”
Looking at her expression, Siloque felt like all his rambling had been pointless.
Maybe being honest from the start would’ve been better.
Dragons had tremendous stamina.
Waiting like this wasn’t going to work.
“Never mind that for now. Hill, do you still have the souvenir Tiana gave you last time?”
“Oh, yes!”
Hill took a small box out of her storage bracelet.
When she opened it, inside was the bone flute.
If Tiana saw that her shed tail bone had been so carefully preserved, she’d probably be delighted.
“Let me borrow it for a sec.”
Siloque took a deep breath and blew the flute.
“—”
“Brother, are you actually blowing it? Hill didn’t hear anything.”
“She probably heard it. She just needs a little time to get ready.”
“Hehe, she’s probably putting clothes on. Tiana Sis is always worried about being cold.”
In fact, the sharp cries from inside had stopped.
In their place came the heavy thump-thump-thump of footsteps.
Siloque wiped the flute clean with a wet wipe he carried, then handed it back to Hill.
Hill took it, staring blankly at the mouthpiece.
She swallowed nervously, her cheeks reddening with delight:
“If Hill puts her lips where brother’s just were on the flute…”
She sneaked a glance at Siloque.
He had his back to her, gazing at the waterfall.
Hill quickly wrapped the bone flute in a handkerchief, placed it back in the box, and returned it to her storage bracelet.
She walked over beside Siloque, mimicked his pose looking at the waterfall, and gave her pale golden hair a little shake.
“Wow! There’s Dragon Sis!”
Tiana emerged from behind the waterfall in human form.
She was wearing even more clothes than the first time they met.
Seeing Siloque and Hill, she waved, then trudged over with unsteady steps, looking as if she might collapse at any moment.
“Yo, long time no see, kid. Little Hill sis. Good thing you blew that bone flute—I finally had an excuse to come out. Edriel is even scarier than I imagined. Kahahahaha.”
Seeing how haggard she looked, Siloque promptly handed her a bottle of stamina-recovery potion.
Tiana sniffed it carefully.
“A potion that’s good for the body. Don’t worry, Dragon Sis—this is high-grade stuff. Sour and sweet, tastes great, not bitter at all. I’m just not sure how effective it is on dragons.”
“Good for the body? If little Hill sis says so…”
Tiana downed it in one gulp.
The instant she set the bottle down—
“Wow, for real! Kahahahaha! My body feels so much lighter! Urgh!”
White steam puffed from Tiana’s mouth.
She leaped excitedly—too high—her dragon horn snapped a tree trunk.
Hill rubbed her head for her.
“Th-thanks, little Hill sis. Okay, I’m in a great mood now! What did you two come find me for? Need help with anything? I’m up for whatever—exploring ancient ruins, storming a fortress, anything!”
Siloque took out a stack of items from his ring chart and handed them to the beaming Tiana.
“? You came all this way just to give me presents?”
“Tiana, let’s be direct. We came today because we want you to move.”
“Move…? Huh!? Why! I finally found this place!”
Tiana’s eyes widened; her surprised voice almost turned into a wail.
“Something troublesome is going to pass through here—the kind of thing even you and Edriel combined couldn’t beat. For safety’s sake, please move out temporarily for this month. This item will take you to a safe spot. The other box contains a barrier tool—once activated, it will completely conceal your location’s aura for half a month.”
Seeing how serious Siloque was, Tiana didn’t dare argue.
“O-okay, I get it. You siblings are weird, but you really wouldn’t hurt me. Man, it’s been ages since I last saw tools like these… I think the last time was thirty years ago…”
Hey, I’m a guy…
Whatever, too lazy to correct her.
Tiana accepted the items with a sulky expression, her big excited tail drooping halfway.
“Dragon Sis, don’t worry. Brother spent a long time picking the new spot. The environment there is really pretty too.”
“Since little Hill sis says so… fine. I’ll do my best to convince Edriel.”
That location was one of the hardest spots to find in the entire game.
Combined with the newly purchased barrier tool, the chance of being discovered would be reduced to the absolute minimum.
“Tiana, and this. If anything unusual happens, channel magic power into the transceiver. We’ll receive the signal immediately on our end and be able to lock onto your position.”
“? This thing looks so weird. Oh? Smells pretty good.”
Tiana took the rectangular object with a stick attached—the radio transceiver.
She curiously sniffed it, even stuck out her tongue, only for Hill to stop her:
“Dragon Sis, even though Hill sometimes sucks on the exhaust of her NS console, this really isn’t something you can eat.”
The transceiver was a special model Siloque had bought from Asmodi.
As long as Tiana wasn’t instantly obliterated into ash, channeling magic power into the transceiver would let her contact him.
Siloque confirmed one last thing:
“Tiana, how’s your master doing these days?”
“Oh, her? Still sleeping.”
“That’s good. You’ve been visiting her on schedule, right?”
After hearing about the move, Tiana had looked dejected, but now she proudly lifted her head:
“Every month when she’s sleeping, I go see her. Haven’t missed a single time in a hundred years.”
“That’s really impressive, Tiana. Your loyalty will make your master very happy.”
“Kahahahaha! Right?! Master is timid and super shy—she’s adorable. I’ll introduce you guys someday!”
Finally, Tiana broke into a hearty, cheerful grin.
***
Third Floor, Sector D.
Three men passed through the giant trees and mist, arriving at a wide clearing.
The central giant tree was far larger than those in the rest of the forest.
The base of its trunk bore numerous artificial dents and impact marks.
The leader—an elderly man with a face full of wrinkles, gray-white beard and bushy hair—checked the time on his watch.
He wore a cyan coat.
Andre scanned the surroundings, confirmed everything was clear, then turned to the two men behind him:
“The pastoral service reading points to this exact location.
The target should appear in about half an hour.
Once it does, I’ll make contact alone.
Keep your distance to minimize their wariness.”
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