BXBX NOVEL Chapter 53 – At Linus’s House (7)
“So, you think Priestess Maya’s patient logs are actually surveillance logs on me?”
“Given what we know about Lormane, that’s highly likely.”
“Ha, why didn’t I think of that?”
“It’s because she’s a Priestess.”
Celine said as she scratched her head.
“Priests are generally difficult to deal with. Your thoughts become rigid when dealing with them. Lormane was an exception because she was our comrade.”
“I’ll have to sneak a look at those logs when I get back to the academy. This is troublesome…”
“It’s not easy dealing with Lormane’s attention and affection.”
Linus said, seeing me rub my aching neck.
“The only silver lining is that she’s currently bound by the heavy chains of being the Chief Administrator of the Church. If it weren’t for those shackles…”
“Lormane, as an Oracle Priestess, can never leave the Church. So, it’s a moot point.”
I said, losing my appetite and leaning back in my chair.
“Let’s stop talking about Lormane. It’s depressing.”
“Haha, sorry.”
“What is he up to these days?”
I asked, trying to change the subject.
“You mean Kaiden? He’s working as a professor at the Tower of Illusions.”
“I thought he was with the Magic Union? Why the sudden switch to the Tower of Illusions? With his talents, shouldn’t he be at an offensive magic research institute or something?”
“Skill and preference don’t always align.”
“It’s strange. A guy who loved destruction now works with illusion magic, which is about creating virtual worlds and such. It’s the complete opposite.”
“I’ve heard he’s been making some progress.”
“Well, that’s expected. Kaiden’s a genius. Whatever he does, he’ll succeed. I have a favor to ask of him.”
“What is it?”
“I plan to place a magic brand on Hindrasta to prevent her from escaping.”
“Hmm, magic on a dragon.”
Linus mused, stroking his chin.
“Only a magician of Kaiden’s level could pull that off. You’ll have to visit the Tower of Illusions and ask him. It’s far from here, so you’ll need to plan your trip.”
“We have a magic professor at the academy who can open dimensional gates. We can use that.”
“But does Hindrasta agree with this plan?”
“Of course not. Do you think she would? That’s why it’s more important to do it by force. This is a secret.”
“I see. But I think she’s already heard everything.”
Linus pointed to the dining room entrance.
I got up and walked over, but saw nothing.
“Sniff…”
Turning around, I heard a strange sound and looked down.
“When did you get here?”
Hindrasta was crouched against the wall, trembling and crying.
“Magic brand… on me…? You’re going to turn me into a slave…?”
“Not a slave, just keeping you until you graduate.”
“Liar… I can see it… you have evil intentions…”
“Oh, come on.”
I raised my hand as if to flick her forehead, and she cowered, clutching her head.
“Dian, bring Hindrasta in. Let’s eat together. She must be hungry.”
“Come on, let’s eat.”
As I grabbed her arm to help her up, Hindrasta stumbled and pulled back violently.
“No! I can’t eat with those heroes!!”
“We’ve prepared the food. Don’t be stubborn!”
“Ahhh!!”
Like a lamb being led to slaughter, Hindrasta screamed as she was dragged into the dining room.
“Sit down, Miss Dragon. Everything here is safe to eat.”
Celine said with a bright smile, gesturing to the maids to set the table for Hindrasta.
“Ugh…”
Hindrasta, seeing Linus across from her, shivered and looked down, making strange noises.
“Here, you’re a dragon, so you must like meat.”
I said, placing a well-cooked turkey leg on her plate. Hindrasta looked at me with desperate eyes.
“Dian, please…”
“Just eat. If you don’t eat now, we’ll have to prepare food again later.”
“That’s right, Hindrasta.”
Linus said. Hindrasta flinched and clung to me tightly.
She’s really desperate if she’s clinging to me just because Linus is here.
“Let’s forget about the past. You and us, we had no personal grudges, right? Now you’re a student at Dian’s academy, so we’ll treat you accordingly.”
“Exactly, Miss Dragon. It’s been ten years. That’s more than enough time for us humans to let go of old grudges.”
“Th-that’s nonsense…”
Hindrasta forced out her words, her voice strained.
“For you… it’s a long time… but for me, it feels like just yesterday…”
“Even so, you need to move on. There’s no other choice.”
Linus smiled warmly as he cut into his steak.
“Me and Dian have encountered you a total of four times, Hindrasta. Each time, you ran away, even when you were in your true form. But now, you can’t even return to your true form.”
Despite Linus’s words, Hindrasta still refused to eat. So, Linus pulled out his ace card.
“Recently, I saw a wyvern flying over our territory, and it reminded me of that time.”
“Eeek?!”
“Haha!”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Linus was referring to the third time we encountered Hindrasta.
We had tamed a wild wyvern on the spot and used it to chase after Hindrasta, who was trying to escape by air.
We got so close that we almost caught her, but she managed to slip away by a hair’s breadth.
After that incident, Hindrasta disappeared for several months, probably shocked by how determined humans were to capture her.
Hindrasta, being quite young for a dragon and not malicious by nature, had only stirred up trouble in the war out of sheer amusement.
She must have been shocked to see humans so intent on capturing her.
Linus had indeed become adept at using psychological tactics after his time in the Palace, where political scheming was rampant.
Dadadadadadadadadadak—
Hindrasta’s hands trembled, and her fingernails clattered noisily against the plate, likely recalling that encounter.
“Hey, Celine. Do we have anything to put on the floor? I think she might wet herself again.”
I joked, and Celine gave me a slightly stern look.
“Stop it now. You’re scaring her too much.”
Linus raised both hands in a placating gesture, still smiling.
“I just wanted her to eat properly. I won’t say anything more if she starts eating.”
Celine gave Hindrasta an encouraging smile.
“Go ahead, Miss Dragon. Don’t be scared and eat. If anyone says anything unnecessary, I’ll scold them.”
“Yes…”
Sniffling, Hindrasta gingerly picked at the turkey leg with her fingers and took a small bite.
Then her eyes widened in surprise, and she looked straight at me.
“It’s delicious!!”
“Why are you looking at me?”
Hindrasta hurriedly grabbed the turkey leg with her hands and started devouring it.
Well, I guess I’ll have to teach her some table manners. Being a dragon turned human and then staying with the crude Revlon Mercenaries, she wouldn’t have learned formal dining etiquette.
With Hindrasta joining us, we continued our cheerful conversation, mostly reminiscing about war memories.
Apologies to Hindrasta, but most of the stories were about the war. There were so many events during those four years that the stories seemed endless.
Linus kept bringing out bottles of wine from the cellar, each one more exquisite and expensive than the last.
All were delicious, and Hindrasta started drinking furiously, likely because she had no place in our conversations and found Linus intimidating.
“Dragons sure can drink.”
Celine laughed as she watched Hindrasta down her umpteenth bottle of wine.
“Take it easy. You don’t want to drink up someone else’s entire supply.”
“It’s fine, Dian. The Palace regularly restocks our cellar.”
“But if she gets drunk and causes trouble, it’ll be a problem. Despite how she looks, she’s incredibly strong.”
“Looks like we don’t need to worry about that.”
Linus turned around and said. What now?
Hindrasta’s eyes were half-closed, and her head was wobbling.
She was fine just a moment ago.
“What are you doing?”
“Mmmmblrrgh…”
Hindrasta slurred incoherently before collapsing onto the table.
“She drank too quickly and got drunk all at once. Can you take her to a bedroom?”
“Why me?”
“Despite her appearance, she’s still quite heavy, and the maids had a hard time last time.”
“Alright, fine. I’ll take her.”
I picked up the unconscious Hindrasta and carried her to a second-floor bedroom…
This house is absurdly large.
After a long walk, guided by a maid, we finally reached the guest room, and I threw Hindrasta onto the bed.
“Ugh…”
Seeing Hindrasta sprawled out, reeking of alcohol, I sighed.
How is someone like this a dragon?