The light of dawn began to shimmer.
“Dragons?”
In the backyard of the City Lord’s Mansion, Margaret seemed to have suddenly lost her interest in practicing martial arts.
She did not put on her armor to duel with the experts of the Imperial Guard until she was soaked in sweat and immersed in the thrill of victory and honor, as was her usual routine.
Instead, she had changed into an elegant, luxurious gown and sat quietly, arranging flowers like any other noble lady of the Imperial Capital.
The faint glimmer of the morning mist illuminated her jade-white cheeks.
In her quiet state, she truly lived up to her reputation as the “Pearl of the Empire.”
“Why are you asking about that?”
Margaret gave a distracted, perfunctory answer, avoiding Yuna’s question.
‘Hmph… she just hooked up with someone else’s fiancé recently, yet now she acts like nothing happened and comes here to give gifts. Does she think that can wipe the slate clean? Bah! This Princess is EXTREMELY! SPITEFUL!’
Yuna, however, did not think that far ahead.
She furrowed her brows frankly and said, “The various events that have occurred in the Dry River Territory lately are simply too unusual. I have an uneasy premonition—perhaps it is a revelation bestowed by the Goddess. Princess, do you think it is possible that a True Dragon is awakening?”
“What if one is?”
Margaret replied with a sarcastic tone.
“Go ask your invincible Hero brother to slay it then!”
“Princess, I am being serious…”
Yuna was slightly taken offset.
“I am being serious too.”
Margaret’s interest suddenly evaporated, and she signaled to Ananna.
Ananna immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
“Princess, it is time for your swordsmanship lesson.”
“Mhm.”
Margaret ignored Yuna, and supported by her maid, she departed with elegant steps.
Failing to gather the information she wanted, Yuna sighed softly and walked out of the courtyard gate, her mind heavy with worry.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she pushed the door open, she ran right into an elven girl who was leaning against the crack of the door, eavesdropping.
“Alida!”
Yuna’s eyes widened.
“You’re back? Where have you been running off to lately?”
The elven girl clutched the bruise on her eye socket caused by the door and muttered aggrievedly, “I went to collect every variety of Pu-pu! John lied! There is no such thing as that new species in the Demon Realm at all! All the other varieties taste terrible!”
“You really are…”
Yuna thought that this girl was truly far too idle.
She intended to bypass her and return to consult the ancient texts, but Alida suddenly tugged on her sleeve, grinning mischievously.
“If you want to know about the Dragon Race, ask me! Ask me! Why bother with her?”
“Ugh…”
Yuna hesitated.
When it came to the depth of knowledge, the ancient and mysterious elves certainly knew more.
Even so, Yuna did not particularly want to ask Alida—this girl loved to toy with people, and her pranks were endless.
If one actually believed her words, they would eventually become a source of “entertainment” in her eyes.
“Never mind.”
Yuna offered a gentle, kind smile and rubbed Alida’s head.
“Little Alida, don’t worry about me. Go play on your own. I was just asking casually.”
Alida raised an eyebrow and clicked her tongue.
“The history of your Empire is too short; you don’t understand how difficult a True Dragon is to deal with. If the awakening of a True Dragon is indeed a reality, your Goddess should be handing down an oracle very soon.”
Yuna’s hand paused for a moment, but she quickly hid it.
She pulled her hand back with forced composure and managed a smile.
“A True Dragon… even the gods are wary of them?”
“True Dragons are the most loathed enemies of the gods.”
Seeing that her prey had taken the bait, Alida’s eyes curved even more, and the corners of her lips curled higher.
“When it comes to experience in fighting True Dragons, no one is more knowledgeable than us elves.”
She spoke slowly, deliberately teasing her listener.
“A True Dragon requires Five Transformations to fully awaken, and each one is a rebirth through fire from the inside out. Therefore, when it comes to dragon slaying, it is best to prepare before it becomes a complete entity.”
“Then do you think… the rain outside could be the power of a True Dragon?”
Yuna only wanted to confirm this most important point.
Alida shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
She remained vague.
“We elves haven’t concerned ourselves with such troublesome matters for a long time. However, the gods are the most sensitive to whether a True Dragon has awakened. If a Dragon King truly awakened, your Goddess of Light would certainly not remain silent.”
“I see.”
Yuna’s deep blue eyes drifted toward the distance.
“By the way… do you know where John went? And that Pu-pu of his. I searched the entire Demon Realm and couldn’t find a second Pu-pu like that. After tasting them all, hers is still the best.”
Alida began to drool again.
“Don’t do anything reckless.”
Yuna was startled and couldn’t help but press her hand to her forehead.
“I’m warning you, that Pu-pu is becoming more and more like a human, and John dotes on her. If you actually eat her, John will definitely fight you to the death.”
“Is that so?”
Alida became thoughtful.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked a non-sequitur.
“I remember Demon King Ria had quite a bit of research on ancient elven magic. How far do you think… his research went? Space? Time? Or perhaps the soul?”
“How would I know?”
Yuna was powerless to complain.
Alida’s thoughts jumped around too much; it was impossible to follow her logic under normal circumstances.
“Fine then, I’ll go meet that Pu-pu.”
Alida suddenly laughed like a creepy aunt.
“Hehehe… little cutie… little dessert… big sister is coming…”
Yuna quickly took two steps back to distance herself from Alida.
With lingering fear and disgust, she said, “Just don’t drag me down when you’re crushed by the Hero’s iron fist.”
“Don’t worry! When the sashimi is ready, I’ll definitely share a leg with my dear sister Yuna! Hehehe!” Like all chaos-seekers, Alida feared nothing more than a world at peace, and she especially loved “corruption.”
The better the Hero’s temper, the more she wanted to see him fly into a rage, be consumed by anger, and turn into a bloodthirsty beast.
—Even if she was killed by the Hero and her bones were ground to ash, what did it matter?
It was an Artificial Body anyway; if the worst happened, she would just switch to a new one.
It just so happened that she could pick one with a larger chest than the Saintess next time.
Alida pulled out a Magic Shadow Stone, placed it steadily on the ground, and turned on the recording mode.
She then began to pose for the lens.
“Hello, viewers! Today is the twenty-first episode of ‘Survival in the Human World.’ We are about to visit a mysterious guest. She is the most delicious ingredient, the most beautiful Pu-pu, and also the Hero’s favorite little lover…”
“Who knows, she might even be the incarnation of some deity, a resurgent True Dragon, or the reincarnation of a Demon King… Hohoho, hehehe!”
Alida was full of ambition and excitement.
She did not know, however, that she was destined to come up empty-handed this time.
—
At the same time.
On the training grounds of Hope Town, Lia had already crafted exactly 100 Pu-powered Hovercrafts.
Although the number did not seem like much, each vessel had a capacity for ten people.
With two to three “salvage miners” assigned to each one, she had essentially covered 80% of the young and able-bodied population of Hope Town.
“OK! The autumn wind is refreshing! The weather is perfect! Departure! Time to rescue Hero John!”
Lia sat on the back of General Pika, whose physique had grown another size larger.
She was full of pride and high spirits.
Behind her was a mountain-like, burgeoning Pu-pu Army.
—Don’t ask! If you ask, “claiming to be a hundred thousand” is the same as being 100,000! It was the New Era counting method!
And at this moment… Lia did not yet know that a terrifying “Pu-pu Eater” elf was closing in on her.
If she had been even half a step slower, she would have likely ended up as a dish served with soy sauce and wasabi.