83. The Goddess’s Remains
“Hand over the blood race…?”
Sophia couldn’t believe her ears.
“Yes, Sophia. You’ve already done very well. Ever since Eisentapha, you’ve been my indispensable subordinate, and you still are now.”
“Even so, I can’t accept…”
Sophia unconsciously clenched her fists.
“Little sister Reina, I must make the blood race stand up again, in various ways. It’s just that every time I feel I can do it, I end up relying on others, relying on you.”
“Is that so?”
Reina pursed her lips:
“Sophia, you’re very cunning.”
“Eh?”
Sophia’s eyes widened, and she suddenly understood what she had said.
If she said that the survival of the blood race was all her own doing, then Reina’s trust could also be a part of her utilization.
“That’s not what I meant, little sister Reina. I’m just too stupid, I don’t know how to say it…” Sophia counted on her long, slender fingers. Her fingernails were dyed crimson by her expanding magic power, and there was even a small bat logo on them.
“I understand you.”
Reina took a sip of hot cocoa, her attitude gentle.
“That’s why I said Sophia can rest. I can take over from here. Protecting you is my will. I will not abandon you and the blood race.”
“…” Sophia was silent, clearly not wanting to accept this proposal.
“You really are a dummy, Sophia. I can see that you really want to save the blood race, so why don’t you use me more?”
“Eh?”
“I need the blood race now, and you want the blood race to get better. Isn’t this just a perfect way to achieve both of our goals? You seem to be overcomplicating things.”
“Actually, it’s not that.”
Sophia still had a hurdle in her heart, but she felt much more comfortable.
She nodded, intending to tell the truth:
“Reina, I want the Goddess of Light’s remains.”
“Huh?”
Speaking of which, Reina couldn’t help but let out a puzzled sound.
“We defeated the Goddess of Light back then. It’s said that her remains were recovered by you.”
“That’s right,” Reina admitted. She had indeed claimed so before.
“But what do you want the remains for? That thing is very dangerous.”
A shadow fell over Sophia’s face.
“I’m sorry, little sister Reina. There’s something I must tell you.”
“Mmm.”
“The God of Light abandoned the blood race. According to my memories, thousands of years ago, my ancestor received a guarantee from the goddess. Before she exiled the loyal blood race, the goddess had once promised that when she obtained the [Truth Formula], she would be able to save the blood race from fire and water. But she actually died on her own.”
Hearing this, Reina almost spat out the hot cocoa in her mouth.
Ahhh, I can’t believe it was Sophia who learned about the past first. But why?
Could it be because of the Blood King’s Bone?
But that doesn’t explain it.
“So, I need the goddess’s remains. I need strength and the truth of the past. I want to study her body. As long as I become a true god, no matter how incompetent I am, I can give the blood race an explanation.”
Sophia said very seriously, as if without any reservation.
But her momentum was fleeting, and she vetoed her own goal.
“Little sister Reina, now, the people I’m most grateful to are you and Sandra. I don’t know what I would have become without you. It’s really ridiculous that an incompetent person like me has such a dream…”
“…”
“Sophia, where did you get this information?”
“I… actually, I saw some memories, the memories of my ancestors.”
She was really unwilling to say it.
“Sophia, I can give you the remains, but there’s a time limit, at most three days. After all, I can’t guarantee that the goddess won’t be resurrected,” Reina said with a smile.
“Really? I… thank you, little sister Reina. I understand!”
Speaking of which, Sophia was so excited she almost jumped up. She didn’t even notice that the wings behind her were flapping up and down.
Just then, Calysia, with four little dragons on her, slowly walked over and urged:
“Reina, it’s time to go and eat.”
The little dragons, seeing their mommy, whom they hadn’t seen in a long time, also immediately pounced on her.
Guangying was the first to reach Reina’s side, and began to nuzzle Reina’s hand with her chin. Her little head, which had just been warmed by Calysia, was like a warm baby.
“Why did Mommy hide again?” Celes held one of Reina’s hands, and then glanced at Sophia.
“Mama, look at my wings!” Angelis showed off the bow on her wings. It seemed to be her own handicraft, but because it would affect her flight, the next second, it was taken off by Celes.
Mura lay on Reina’s head, giggling foolishly. In Reina’s memory, besides when she was born, the other little dragons would only cry, while she would only laugh.
So silly.
Seeing this, Sophia actually felt a pang in her heart. She didn’t know what she was worried about, but her face was pale.
After arranging the time of the transaction with Reina, she said goodbye to everyone.
Remembering that Reina was short of money now, she constantly thought about a gift that would please her.
And then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, a few drops of cold sweat flowed down her face.
…
The next day, Reina and Sophia met in the Dragon King’s Palace.
Sophia brought the best guards of the blood race, and Reina had prepared Azure and Fire of the Azure Scale Knights to see her off.
The goddess’s remains were placed in an azure coffin. The coffin was completely sealed. To open it, one needed to inject light magic in a regular pattern. The matching light key would release the exact same fluctuation, becoming the only way to open the coffin.
The coffin was the size of a person and was mercilessly sealed with many purple chains. On the top of the coffin lid was a symbol of the dragon royal family. It was a pattern of Reina’s time and space authority attached to it. Unfortunately, only Reina herself could see what the intention was.
In exchange for three days’ use of the goddess’s remains, Sophia took out many of the blood race’s “heirlooms” as offerings.
This time, she wasn’t that stupid.
The products of the alchemists, which looked extremely precious, were indeed of high value, but for the blood race, which was connected to the economy of Lekadis, this was just a drop in the bucket. Instead of respecting the inheritance of their ancestors, it was better to use them to exchange for the future of the race.
At least Sophia seemed to really have this idea.
Logically, Reina couldn’t possibly just want these flashy things.
And Sophia was still hiding something.
But when she saw the coffin being carried away by the blood race and disappearing in the center of the teleportation magic circle, she chuckled wryly and muttered to herself:
“I feel a little sorry for her.”
After all, the so-called goddess’s remains didn’t exist at all, because the Goddess of Light hadn’t died at all.
Hidden in the coffin was Reina’s Light Clone, which she hadn’t used for a long time.
