86. Chills
Reconstruction was in full swing. Near the city of Whitesburg, more and more half-orcs flocked to the nearby cities. The bustling traffic and the resources provided by the Four Realms had become a unique landscape of Whitesburg.
Before she knew it, snowflakes like goose feathers began to fall from the sky.
The early winter snow was as chaotic as a hurried passerby.
On the road from the teleportation magic circle to Whitesburg, the two young women, holding each other’s hands, became the focus of attention for the passing cat-folk. After all, strictly speaking, this wasn’t a stronghold of the Great Dragons.
But Liya, holding her arm, didn’t care about the increasing gazes. She tried to keep White Miry at a certain distance, and White Miry, like a small daughter, huddled in Liya’s arms. The two were harmonious and loving, like sisters.
She would sometimes look at the star-filled sky, and sometimes stare blankly at White Miry’s ghostly blue eyes.
“White Miry, if you’re cold, you must tell me.”
—This undead dragon, unlike ordinary dragons, her body would become stiffer the colder it got. Although it wouldn’t kill her, it was equivalent to torture.
“Mmm…”
White Miry let out a soft sound.
As if afraid of being too dramatic, she didn’t immediately curl up.
Liya often comforted herself like this, but hearing White Miry’s voice, she felt as if she had taken a calming pill and smiled happily.
“Liya, don’t you get cold either.”
“Hehe…”
Saying that, Liya’s face pressed against White Miry’s somewhat cold cheek.
At these times, she would always observe White Miry’s expression, hoping to see more fluctuations in her heart.
“Does Little Miry like me?”
As if unsure of something, Liya asked softly.
At this moment, a few carriages were crowded on the slope of the road beside them, and a few cat-folk and fox-folk children ran out of the carriages, chasing and playing.
“I do.”
White Miry nuzzled against Liya’s face. At this moment, Liya felt it was the most wonderful moment of her life. Just as the two were immersed in their own world, a magnetic, middle-aged male voice sounded from behind them:
“Are you ready? You’re challenging the Beast King, Kritz, today. I’m not even sure I can defeat that madman now.”
It was Ajin.
Unlike Liya, who was wearing a dress, and even more different from White Miry, who was wearing a small cotton-padded jacket, Ajin was wearing a thick overcoat with several warm clothes as lining, making him look slightly bloated… The gap where his arm was missing was even less conspicuous, as if it had shrunk into his clothes.
Actually, this morning, Reina had ordered him, in her capacity as the President of the God Slaying Society, to investigate the situation of White Miry and Shining Scale, and to report any abnormalities. Only then was he willing to follow, in the name of “coaching guidance.”
“Mr. Ajin, are you not afraid of dying of heat, wearing so much?” White Miry released Liya, turned her head to look at this tall dragon, and felt a little annoyed.
“Isn’t that a bit of a double standard?” Ajin chuckled wryly. She had just been so concerned about Liya, but her attitude had changed when it came to him.
“I probably don’t have much of a chance,” Liya said.
“The other party is one of the Four Kings of the Realms, just like the Dragon King…”
“I believe in Liya.”
White Miry’s voice was emotionless. Her tail was tucked behind Liya’s back. In the past, she wouldn’t have made so many affectionate gestures.
Lately, their relationship seemed to have taken a step closer.
The so-called “sisters” seemed to be just a cover for a deeper relationship.
A snowflake landed on White Miry’s head, seeming to blend in with her gray hair.
Liya chuckled wryly, her heart heavy with worries.
Walking up the slope of the hill, after passing a few noisy new half-orc shops, a wide, flat plaza appeared before them. It was surrounded by trees on all four sides, and in the middle was a space the size of four football fields. Many weapon racks and training dummies were scattered in the center of the field. Hundreds of beastmen warriors were warming up, showing off their prowess, while more beastmen sat around, including half of the half-orc civilians.
A burly orc with dark skin stood at the main entrance of the training grounds. In front of him, a 140-centimeter-tall fox-folk loli was crying her eyes out. And the orc was crouching down, gently rubbing her head with one finger of his hand, which was painted with white stripes and several times larger than her face.
“Kribi, who is this?” Ajin looked up at this orc who had lost half an eye. The two felt a certain sense of camaraderie.
“Ajin! Oh my god, you look like you’ve wrapped yourself up into a garlic!”
Kribi also stepped forward. Their relationship seemed to be more harmonious than imagined.
“Hasn’t your brother ever told you that you’re not good at compliments?”
“Hahaha… he said I have a great sense of humor.”
Kribi scratched his head.
“My brother is inside. You can go in.”
“And you?”
Ajin glanced at the fox-folk child, who wagged her pink tail and, seeing this golden dragon, took a few steps back in fear, as if she could sense his true, ferocious form. Kribi comforted her:
“Don’t be afraid, little girl. Your mother should be here soon. My subordinates have already gone to find her.” Saying that, Kribi rubbed the half-orc little girl’s head with his finger again.
Liya couldn’t believe her eyes.
Of course, in the face of the current problem, Kribi’s contrast was slightly overshadowed.
After entering the training grounds, the surrounding orcs consciously made way for the three of them, until the Beast King Kritz, who was only less than 200 centimeters tall and looked quite human but was extremely ferocious, turned around and shouted at them:
“Hahahahaha—!”
“You’ve finally come! Fighting against a dragon is so exciting!”
Orcish battles had no rules, no scoring, only ferocity.
The Beast King threw away his wine bottle, his afterimage trailing lightning, and instantly appeared in front of Liya, a charged punch like lightning descending from the sky!
“Zing—!”
When the shockwave dissipated, on the cleared field, only Liya and Kritz were left in a standoff. The three golden rings on her arm were pressed against her katana. For a moment, the two were evenly matched, neck and neck!
“Good—! A strength recognized by me, the Beast King!”
Kritz shouted, attracting the attention of everyone on the training grounds.
The sound of drums began.
With a roar, the orcs and spectators present cheered, as if to raise the curtain for the battle of the night.
“Let the match begin!”
“Good—!”
The battle began in an instant, with no need for a referee, only momentum and a victor.
The two dragons were in the empty spectator seats.
Ajin glanced at White Miry, and the latter’s vacant gaze shocked him.
“You seem different from before.”
From a lively little girl to a robot who had seen through everything.
And as expected, White Miry didn’t even glance at Ajin.
Her next words sent an unprecedented chill down Ajin’s spine.
“Because Liya doesn’t like me that way. Hey, Ajin, who sent you to observe us?”
