"…Help me…"
Who are you?
Kurose Akira stopped in his tracks.
He was certain he had heard a voice.
And yet—no one else reacted. The others showed no sign of having heard anything at all. It was as if the voice existed for him alone.
"I am the dragon who represents life—Mira Aure. The one your guild member, Mare Rhine, calls her mortal enemy~"
The voice echoed again, calm and almost teasing.
"But from my perspective, our relationship isn't so simple as 'enemies.' If anything… perhaps we're closer to being friends?"
Akira was visibly taken aback.
That single statement confirmed it—
The entity sealed within that corpse was indeed the Life Dragon.
But the way the two dragons viewed each other was completely different.
To Mare Rhine, Mira Aure was a sworn enemy—someone she had to defeat.
But to Mira Aure… Mare was something else entirely.
A… friend?
"What's wrong?" Lucia noticed Akira's unusual reaction and asked with concern.
"…Nothing." Akira shook his head. "Let's head back."
He led the group back to the Elven Kingdom.
Yet Mira Aure's voice lingered in his ears, refusing to fade.
"Did you know? Mare Rhine and I were born from the same egg. In a sense, we're sisters."
"But our personalities don't exactly match~ You've seen how bad her temper is."
"She spends all day thinking about destroying the world. Honestly, it's such a headache for a dragon…"
…
Before long, they returned to the Elven Kingdom.
Akira gave Elena a brief report about what they had found in the cave—but deliberately withheld any mention of Mira Aure.
"So it wasn't a lead on the Undead Lord after all? That's unfortunate," Elena sighed lightly, though she didn't seem particularly disappointed.
"Yeah." Akira nodded, then added, "I'd like the elves to stay away from that cave. Leave everything there to me. Is that alright?"
The cave was less than ten kilometers from the Elven Kingdom's border.
Within that range, other nations wouldn't dare interfere due to the elves' power.
So as long as the elves agreed, he could keep the cave's secret completely contained.
Elena turned to him with a faint smile, studying him carefully.
"It seems whatever's inside that cave is quite important to you?"
"…You could say that." Akira nodded, though he wasn't in a position to explain further.
"In that case~ would you like me to assign some elves to guard it for you?" Elena offered with a playful smile.
"No need." Akira shook his head. The dense death aura alone was enough to deter most intruders.
"Is that so?" Elena seemed slightly surprised, but quickly followed up, "Then would you mind if I went to explore it myself?"
Seeing the curiosity flickering in her eyes, Akira shrugged.
"Be my guest."
He knew she was just joking.
"…Boring!" Elena rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed that he had seen right through her.
The two soon arrived at the Elven Queen's palace.
"The Queen is waiting inside," Elena said. "She has something to discuss with you."
"The Queen?" Akira was a little surprised. He had assumed this visit was mainly about dealing with Palos.
"I have no idea why she wants to see you," Elena shrugged, a teasing smile tugging at her lips. "Maybe it's because you're such a shameless flirt~"
"Once the Queen is done using you, come find me. We'll go help Palos stabilize the seal."
"…Using?"
Akira paused at her choice of words, but before he could think further, the palace doors opened.
The Elven Queen's elegant, flawless figure appeared at the entrance. She smiled and beckoned to him.
"Guild Master Akira, come in. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Akira glanced at Elena, then stepped inside.
The doors closed slowly behind him.
Now, the vast palace hall held only two people—him and the Elven Queen.
He couldn't help but feel a hint of confusion.
What exactly did she want?
"I've already met with her~"
The Elven Queen approached him with a radiant smile, clearly pleased with the outcome of their conversation.
"So, you've made your decision?" Akira asked curiously.
He was quite interested in what had transpired between her and Idis.
"You could say that~" she replied gently. "I've agreed to her conditions. However, there's one matter we couldn't quite settle."
"What is it?"
"She requested a drop of the Progenitor Elf's blood—a treasure of immense importance to our race."
"And you don't want to give it up?" Akira asked.
"No~" the Queen shook her head. "I am willing to offer it. But what surprised me is that the Rose Duchess… does not want it herself."
"She doesn't?" Akira blinked in surprise.
If Idis didn't want it, then why had she made that demand in the first place?
"She…" The Queen paused briefly before continuing, "asked me to give that drop of blood to you."
"…To me?"
Akira's eyes widened.
He had never imagined that Idis's condition would end up benefiting him.
"Correct." The Queen nodded, her expression carrying the same confusion. "She wants me to present it to you as a gift. I cannot understand her intentions."
Akira let out an awkward chuckle. "Honestly… neither can I."
"And besides~" The Queen stepped closer, a gentle warmth flickering in her eyes.
She raised her hand, her fingertips brushing lightly against his cheek—soft, tender, almost indulgent.
"If you were the one to ask me for that drop of blood, I wouldn't refuse."
"…Uh…"
Akira felt momentarily overwhelmed.
He still didn't even know what the so-called Progenitor Elf blood actually did.
The Queen withdrew her hand gracefully, smiling faintly.
"However, I cannot give it to you just yet."
"I'm not in a hurry," Akira replied calmly. He wasn't particularly eager for it anyway.
"That's good." She nodded, then leaned closer, her voice dropping to a soft whisper by his ear.
"It's not that I'm unwilling… the time simply isn't right. When the moment comes, I will naturally give it to you. So, I ask that you explain this to the Rose Duchess on my behalf."
"Alright."
Akira nodded, though curiosity lingered.
Why did something like this require a specific timing?
"Thank you, little one~"
The Queen lightly tapped the tip of his nose with her finger, as if placing a tiny star upon it.
"I have many matters to attend to, so I won't be able to host you personally."
As she finished speaking, the palace doors opened once more.
Elena stepped inside.
Her gaze briefly swept over Akira—there was a faint, almost imperceptible trace of resentment in her eyes.
"Elena," the Queen said solemnly, "see to it that Guild Master Akira is properly attended to. He is a distinguished guest of the Elven Kingdom."
"Understood, Your Majesty!" Elena responded respectfully, then turned to Akira. "Guild Master Akira, this way."
Akira followed her out of the palace.
Once outside, Elena turned to him with a playful smile.
"If I heard correctly just now, the Queen was planning to give you some kind of special gift?"
Akira paused, then looked at her in surprise.
"You heard that?" There should have been magic blocking any external perception inside the palace.
Elena waved her hand casually, a mischievous grin on her lips.
"I guessed~"
Of course, she hadn't heard anything.
And as a princess, she wouldn't dare eavesdrop on the Queen.
"…!"
Akira frowned.
He'd been played again.
Elena tapped her cheek thoughtfully, curiosity glinting in her eyes.
"Let me guess… was it a leaf from the World Tree?"
"No."
"An elven gemstone?"
"Nope."
She continued guessing, her tone growing more teasing.
"Don't tell me… it was the Queen's personal underwear? That would suit your tastes."
"…? What!? No way! Even if I did like that, there's no way she'd give it to me!" Akira was stunned, as if struck by lightning.
That kind of thing was completely impossible.
And more importantly—he would never ask for something like that!
"Not that? Then what was it?" Elena's smile widened. She suddenly stopped walking and stared at him intently.
"…Don't tell me the Queen decided to give me to you?"
"..."
Akira froze.
His silence made Elena's brows slowly knit together.
For a moment, she actually began to doubt herself.
Why was his reaction so different this time?
Noticing her unease, Akira smiled faintly.
"I didn't want it, but the Queen insisted on giving—"
"Boring!"
Elena rolled her eyes.
His answer made it obvious—her guess was wrong.
And she had simply overthought things.
After all, she was the princess of the Elven Kingdom, the future Queen.
How could she possibly be "given away" so easily?
…Unless Akira conquered the entire Elven Kingdom.
If the Elven Queen herself became his subordinate, then maybe—just maybe—such a scenario could happen.
"Come on. Palos is waiting."
Elena quickly led him toward the area where the dark elves were staying.
Due to the tension between dark elves and regular elves, they had been arranged in a secluded palace.
Few elves came here. Only a handful of dark elf guards could be seen.
When they spotted Akira and Elena, they immediately stepped forward to greet them.
"Lord Akira, Princess Elena!" Their tone was filled with respect—a stark contrast to their initial hostility.
"We're here to see Palos," Elena said.
"Please follow me."
A dark elf led them inside.
Before long, they arrived at Palos's chamber.
But the moment Akira saw her condition, his brows furrowed.
Palos lay quietly on a jade bed, her eyes closed, as if in a deep sleep.
Her breathing was steady, yet her body emitted a faint silver glow—like distant starlight.
"This started during the ritual with the Queen," Elena explained. "The Queen offered to help, but she refused."
Akira stepped closer.
"Do we need to perform the sealing again? Like last time?"
At that moment—
Palos slowly opened her deep, dark-blue eyes.
"You've finally come, Guild Master Akira."
As she tried to sit up, Akira gently stopped her.
"Stay still. I'll suppress the seal for you."
"…Mm."
She obediently lay back down.
"This time is a bit different," Elena added. "There aren't any tools in the Elven Kingdom that can suppress her condition."
"So… you may have to put in a bit more effort."
"…What do you mean?"
Akira frowned slightly.
And in that instant—
Elena stepped back.
At the same time, the other dark elves quietly exited the room, closing the door behind them.
"???"
Akira's confusion deepened instantly.
What was going on?
Before he could react—
A pair of hands suddenly wrapped tightly around him from behind.
At the same time, a soft, gentle female voice whispered into his ear—tinged with unmistakable delight.
"Got you~ …my dear~"
…
Want to unlock up to 60+ early-access chapters and exclusive novels ? Join my Patreon today and dive deeper into the adventure!
patreon.com/denji21