Just like that, the speechless Genasa was forced to live together with this strange Crystal Sage.
“Come, come, let your teacher help you get familiar with our home.”
After Geli had enough fun, she put him down and walked toward the door of the Hatching Chamber.
Before even stepping outside, a burst of colorful radiance shone through.
Stepping outside, everything became clear and bright.
“Wow~ what a mess.”
The vast Great Hall was carved from sparkling crystal, like a dazzling palace.
But all over the floor, a hodgepodge of stuff was piled into a huge mound, though a wide path had been kept clear.
Scattered books, odd materials, and, right in the center, a massive Cauldron, with a fire burning underneath, stewing some kind of unknown thick green liquid.
Hearing her place called messy, Geli scratched her head awkwardly, about to defend herself.
Genasa sniffed the air, catching a strange scent, and pointed at the big pot.
“Is that stuff burning?”
“Huh? What? Ah! My medicine! These ingredients are hard to find!”
In a panic, she flew over to the Cauldron, quickly blowing out the fire with a puff.
Behind her, Genasa narrowed his eyes in utter disdain:
(Ⅱ_Ⅱ) “Why do I feel like I’d rather die than stay with this unreliable person?”
But things had come to this, so there was nothing to be done. Genasa walked along the wide path, sweeping his gaze across the chaotic scene.
He came up to the big pot, looking at the sad Geli squatting on the ground, drawing circles.
“It’s over, the whole batch of medicine is wasted.”
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Genasa helplessly stepped forward, raising his front claw to pat her on the back.
“My condolences.”
As soon as he finished, Geli’s eyes sparkled as she turned to look at him.
“To avoid wasting it, I’ll just have to salvage what I can.”
“Huh? You can save it? That’s good then.”
“That’s right, you stay right here, don’t move, don’t move.”
Geli gave Genasa repeated instructions, then darted off to the side.
With nimble and practiced movements, she fished out some materials from the jumbled corners, tossing them one by one into the pot without even looking back.
She hopped onto the rim of the Cauldron, not the least bit afraid of the heat from the fire below.
Grabbing the huge stirring rod, she began stirring the mysterious, viscous fluid inside.
“Hmm, just about done.”
After a while, she looked at the now slightly thinned-out goo, then turned to Genasa with a helpless look:
“It was meant for someone else, but now you benefit.”
“Benefit? What is it?”
Beaming, Geli picked up Genasa and explained patiently:
“It was originally a medicine to cleanse impurities from the body of Dragons, but now I’ve modified it—it can be used to strengthen a Dragon’s hide, making your scales tougher and more resilient. Plus, in the future, you’ll grow even more beautiful and practical scales~”
“Sounds pretty good, except…”
Genasa climbed onto the Cauldron, peering into the thick green goo, now even greener and tinged with black.
The medicine’s aroma had turned into a stench, making him a bit nauseous.
“You’re sure this isn’t poison? Is it really safe?”
Geli put her hands on her hips, grinning confidently.
“I never said it’s for drinking, and I have absolute confidence in anything I concoct.”
“Not for drinking? Then don’t tell me…”
Genasa was suddenly filled with an ominous premonition.
“You’re not planning to make me soak in it, are you?”
“That’s right! You guessed it! Your reward is that your teacher will personally send you in. Off you go!”
Genasa, who had been lying on the rim of the pot, was caught off guard—his poor little butt took a hit and he fell right in.
“Eh? I…”
Before he could finish, the whole Dragon plunged into the foul, black liquid.
At that moment, Geli hopped back up onto the rim, calling out to the bubbling spot below:
“How is it, is the temperature enough? If not, I can turn it up a bit.”
Genasa, covered in the inky-green, stinking fluid, surfaced with a deadpan look:
“I suspect you just want to cook me, and I have evidence.”
“Hohoho~ Don’t say that! If I really wanted to do something to you, why would I take you as a disciple? So, how does it feel?”
Genasa gave her a sidelong glance, then tried to feel his own skin.
“Hmm… aside from the smell, the tingling is kind of nice.”
The fire’s heat was nothing to a Red Dragon, so overall it was tolerable.
Genasa swam around a bit inside, stirring the medicine to help absorb it.
Seeing that he was fine, Geli put her hands on her hips, grinning widely:
“Told you my stuff is good! Soak well. When the medicine’s color lightens, you’re done.”
“Alright, but why does it feel itchier and itchier?”
After soaking for a while, the previous tingling started to turn into an itch. Puzzled, Genasa raised a claw to scratch, and felt as if he had scraped something off.
Wiping away the medicine to take a closer look—it was a scale that had fallen off.
(一ー一)
With a calm motion, he wiped off the medicine on his claw, and sure enough, his scales were starting to corrode.
“Uh… Am I allowed to start struggling now? Help!”
“Hey hey hey, you’re not done soaking! Wait a bit longer.”
Genasa flailed, trying to climb out of the pot, but Geli whacked him back down with the stirring rod.
“I knew you were trying to murder me! Let me out!”
Above, Geli’s face was all smiles, one hand cradling her chin, the other holding the stirring rod and pressing Genasa down.
“How could I possibly harm you? This is all for your own good. Don’t struggle—the more you struggle, the more excited I get~”
“I… glug glug glug…”
Every time he tried to speak, he was pushed right back under. Over time, Geli really did get more excited!
“Come on, let your teacher play with you! Is it fun? Fun~ Hohohoho~”
“You crazy hag! I… glug glug… your whole family! Glug glug…”
“You’re really making me have the time of my life!”
At this moment, Geli looked exactly like an old witch boiling children…
Damn it! I’ll remember this grudge!
Who knows how much time passed—by now, the cauldron of inky green medicine had turned light green.
The medicinal effects were just about all absorbed, and as for Genasa…
He’d turned into a bald Dragon without a single scale, squatting in a corner, doubting his life.
“Did I commit some terrible sin in my past life? Sigh…”
If anyone asks me in the future why I became her disciple, I’ll just say I was forced…
Just then, Geli’s stretched-out voice rang out behind him.
“Wa~ah~ Master’s got another goodie for you~”
Bald Genasa turned his head—those little eyes looked as if nothing in the world mattered anymore.
As soon as he turned, he saw Geli holding a translucent, emerald-green fruit in her hand, offering it to him.
That tender, glistening fruit seemed to shimmer with flecks of light.
“What’s… that?” It looked a bit like a Life Fruit, but it was kind of big.
“A Life Fruit produced by a Thousand-Year Guardian Tree. Eat it and recover a bit; you look so bare it’s not cute at all.”
“Huh? That sounds pretty incredible.” Incredibly so—thousand years old! Way higher quality than anything I’ve eaten before!
The personal guards of the World Tree were originally just ordinary plants, but over countless years of serving at its side, they evolved—and the fruits they bore brimmed with immense vitality.
Normally, Guardian Trees wouldn’t bear fruit, so the fruits were extremely rare, kept as trump cards for survival.
What’s more, as followers of the World Tree, the Elven Race basically never interacted with the outside world, making Life Fruits even harder to obtain.
But judging by Geli’s attitude, she didn’t seem to care much about that. Thinking about it, it made sense.
Genasa wolfed down the fruit without hesitation.
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