Chapter 16 Chapter 9 Romantic Night, Warm Sun, A Young Girl’s Smile
Having successfully turned the young master of the Landishrofen family into a servant by using Lothel’s knowledge and skills, as well as the stories he had experienced, Verafia had already planned to return to the human world!
Although she claimed to be the lord of the entire “Abyss of Flames” and the Aixereseia Divine Court, Miss Verafia had little left besides a luxurious long dress made of condensed flames under her mage’s cloak.
Therefore, as a noble phoenix maiden, Verafia had been very careful when killing the mercenary trio, controlling the intensity of her flames to avoid burning their storage items to ashes—although all three of their possessions combined, plus the commission Ig had paid, were only worth a little over ten Kingdom Gold Coins.
As they neared the exit, the scorching temperature in the air had dropped considerably, and traces of brilliant golden sunlight could be seen falling through the gaps. Ig looked at the girl in front of him.
“Miss Verafia, I have one more question: we only met once, and you don’t know my character, so why do you trust a human like me so much?”
Looking at Verafia, who had fallen to the Golden rank to hide her aura, and was now bouncing along towards the outside world as ecstatically as if she were on a picnic, Ig’s heart stirred a question.
“Aren’t you worried about me telling others that you are a phoenix?”
Verafia suddenly stopped. The gentle sunlight shone on half of her face, and in her luxurious, scorching golden eyes, a hint of deep, icy coldness appeared.
Ig’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately regretted his thoughtless words again!
Although he wouldn’t do it, wouldn’t saying it make this noble phoenix maiden wary, and make Verafia think he was blackmailing her?
“Miss Verafia, this…”
Ig uttered nervously.
However, the coldness in Verafia’s eyes vanished in an instant. Under Ig’s trembling gaze, the smile on the girl’s lips became as warm as the early spring sun.
“Of course I’m not scared! Here, Ig, lift your sleeve and see what you have.”
As Ig pulled back his sleeve, he saw a cluster of golden flame markings slowly rising beneath his skin.
It appeared warm, soft, and beautiful… but undoubtedly, it concealed extremely dangerous and terrifying power.
The young man’s face instantly turned pale again.
At this moment, the girl’s clear and pleasant voice, which made Ig tremble with fear, came. In her beautiful voice, which was like the song of an oriole, Ig heard a fierce threat:
“See that little flame? As long as I want to, even across the entire continent, your body will—’boom’! Shatter into pieces like that rock.”
Casually throwing a flame that turned a boulder into fragments, Verafia instantly put on a charming smile on her exquisite face again.
Verafia tiptoed and extended her slender, fair hand to pat the young man’s shoulder.
“So, Ig, you need to listen to me carefully!”
…
…
The Peka Kingdom, with its vast and fertile farmlands and spacious plains in the eastern part of Agrand, had earned the reputation of “Kingdom of Fleur-de-lis” and “Land of Knights” over countless years of history.
With its dense population and prosperous national strength, the kingdom was not at a disadvantage even when facing its neighboring empire.
After the harsh winter, the breath of the romantic night that revived the earth permeated the warm sun, stirring a verdant leaf amidst the fragrant aroma of flowers and sweet berries.
The emerald branches and leaves were held by a slender, fair hand. Beneath the girl’s seemingly simple black mage’s cloak, a glimpse of a luxurious scarlet dress trim could be seen.
Under the black hood, only a wisp of hair, as if cast from gold, and scorching golden eyes on her porcelain-white delicate face, fully displayed the girl’s noble and proud temperament, like the sun in the sky.
However, this noble young lady seemed quite dissatisfied and loudly scolded the black-haired young man beside her:
“Ig, I don’t care! I want the Nectar Fig, I don’t want this plain stuff!”
The black-haired young man, seemingly serving as the girl’s servant, showed a look of helplessness at her willful childish behavior.
“Alright, alright, Young Lady. Once we reach Vist City, everything will be as you say.”
These two were naturally Verafia and Ig, who had recently emerged from the secret realm of the “Abyss of Flames.”
Since their personal storage items had also been thrown into the sea of flames by the mercenary trio, and they hadn’t encountered any villages or towns for supplies along the way, Ig had to rely on his own hunting for food.
However, the girl seemed to have a strong aversion to poultry and other meats, and only ate a small amount with a frown when she was extremely hungry. Verafia, on the other hand, quickly became fascinated by a fruit called Nectar Fig.
Could this also be a habit of phoenixes?
Hearing the young man’s voice, the unhappy expression on Verafia’s small face lessened slightly.
The girl kicked a small stone in front of her with force and muttered, “This is so boring. I shouldn’t have come out with you.”
Ig was already accustomed to the daily complaints of this phoenix maiden who seemed to have just hatched.
The young man casually comforted her, “After all, this is a wilderness. Young Lady, don’t you really want to see what kind of civilization humans have built with their own hands in this world?”
The girl pouted but made no further sound.
Ig let out a long sigh, thinking that accompanying such a pampered young lady was not easy, but why was Shiel so well-behaved when she was young?
However, Ig did not notice the fleeting cold glint in the girl’s scorching golden eyes.
…
Perhaps feeling tired from traveling again, Verafia leaned closer to the young man: “Ig, what kind of place is this Vist City you’re talking about?”
“Vist City, it’s the capital of the Brandenburg Border Marquisate, and the western frontier of the Kingdom. It’s the largest city that serves as a hub for exchange with the Empire, elves, and dwarves.”
Ig stopped and thought for a moment.
“I heard rumors that Vist City was rebuilt under the supervision of Lord Lothel a hundred years ago, during the early stages of the Demon Race War, after the demon legions rampaging in the Kingdom’s eastern territories were driven away. However, the first lord of Vist City died out fifty years ago. The current Marquis of Brandenburg is Marquis Keso, who was promoted by the King twenty years ago…”
Verafia listened quietly to the young man’s account, and under her hood, a ripple stirred in her scorching golden eyes.
Even after a hundred years, this city hadn’t changed much, but what about those people? Her enemies, and her friends…
Ig’s voice stopped. He noticed the girl’s distracted gaze, but assuming Verafia was worried about herself and a little lost in the unknown, he smiled and comforted her.
“Miss Verafia, you don’t need to worry. Even within the entire Kingdom, Vist City can be considered a large city. You’ll surely be able to find the flame-系的 treasures, sacred relics, and high-level magic crystals you need to recover your strength here.”
