We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Feigning ignorance.
“Guen!” we almost yelled reflexively. But before we could react, Guen moved first.
Clearing his throat ostentatiously, Guen drew the attention of the Winged Tribe.
“Unfortunately, I have no interest in unknown women and children,” he said.
Then, Guen looked at us and let out an exaggerated sigh, as if we were a nuisance.
“What harsh words,” I thought. We weren’t exactly allies in the Divine Race’s Country, but still. To someone with whom we had a secret pact for mutual benefit, his reaction was incredibly careless. For a moment, I considered retorting. But I sensed something off about Guen’s theatrical behavior.
Guen is, by his own admission and everyone else’s, a cunning individual. I don’t know why he’s here, but if Guen is moving, it means the Bewitching God Teyu is paying attention to this land. Moreover, while Guen is cunning, he’s not attention-seeking and always acts with various schemes in mind. For Guen to now be deliberately drawing the Winged Tribe’s attention… In other words, he’s stealing the spotlight from us, who were subjected to Seol’s vulgar behavior. We were all surprised by Guen’s appearance.
So, Guen is diverting attention from our stirred emotions and concealing our reactions from the Winged Tribe? Does that mean…?
Perhaps Guen is trying to hide our connection? For whatever reason, Guen also has a mission here and wants the Winged Tribe to think we are meeting for the first time. That’s why he’s acting theatrically, to steal our attention and prevent the Winged Tribe from sensing any incongruity in our reactions.
We vaguely understood Guen’s intent. If so, we should play along for now. It might be beneficial for both of us; more importantly, we were tired of Seol’s vulgarity.
“Are you Slustal? Lord Seol mentioned you, and you’re quite capable. But perhaps too capable?”
“Lord Guen. What exactly do you mean by that?”
From Seol and Slustal’s attitudes, it seems the Winged Tribe already knows Guen is from the Divine Race. The onlookers from the Winged Tribe who had gathered around were also observing quietly, not interfering with Guen’s words and actions. Seol welcomed Guen with a deferential attitude, diverting attention from us. Guen entered the circle with an exaggerated demeanor and cast another glance at us. Then, he deliberately paused his gaze on Mistral and Nimia.
I don’t know why Guen is here. But there’s one thing I do know. Guen is of the Divine Race, and the Divine Race has the ability to discern races. Guen pointed at Mistral and Nimia, mocking the Winged Tribe, who couldn’t distinguish their races.
“That woman is of the Dragon Person Race, and that little one is of the Dragon Race. Are you capable enough to achieve success in slave hunting even against a Dragon Person and a Dragon?”
“?!”
At Guen’s words, the gathered Winged Tribe onlookers, the Winged Tribe man who brought us, and Slustal and Seol widened their eyes in astonishment.
“So, Lord Seol, if you lay a hand on that woman carelessly, I believe you’ll face a painful counterattack? Let me tell you, even I wouldn’t dare to provoke a Dragon Person and a Dragon!”
“D-Dragon Person!”
Seol hastily withdrew his hand, which had been unconsciously reaching out towards Mistral. Then, he looked up at Mistral with the gaze one would give a terrifying being. Slustal and the Winged Tribe men also showed contorted expressions upon learning the true identities of those they had been threatening. Guen let out a snort, watching the Winged Tribe. From Guen’s perspective as a Divine Race member, the Winged Tribe were merely inferior beings, even potential slaves. Therefore, he showed no mercy when despising them. That is the Divine Race, and that is the hierarchy between races.
However, this is no time to be leisurely observing Guen and the Winged Tribe people. “Sigh. I wanted to keep Mistral’s true identity hidden a little longer. But if Guen has revealed it, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Uh, do you believe us now? We came over the Heavenly Mountain Range to search for Lady Shooting Star’s destiny.”
“With dragon person and dragon escorts, even we can travel, right?” I said with a smile. However, the people of the Winged Tribe didn’t have the composure to receive my smile.
“S-Slustal, what is the meaning of this!?”
In Seol’s eyes, Mistral was now nothing more than a terrifying woman. Seol, backing away, pressed Slustal, completely flustered. Slustal, also frozen in shock, stared at us. Nevertheless, being pressed by Seol, he finally managed to speak.
“Th-these people were captured before the mountain range. …No, that was our misunderstanding. I see, so if that woman had wished it, we would have been defeated at any time. It’s no wonder everyone was calm in any situation.”
Before we could say anything, Slustal seemed to have understood the events so far. He is indeed a quick-witted person. Slustal, acknowledging his misunderstanding about us, explained the events chronologically. While heading towards the Heavenly Mountain Range on a commission, he noticed a red wyvern flying over the mountainous region and sent a bird for reconnaissance. That’s when they saw us strolling leisurely along the road. Thinking we might be escaped slaves, Slustal and his companions cautiously approached us while wary of the wyvern and captured us. Well, more accurately, they *thought* they had captured us.
However, upon seeing Ruiseine’s miko attire and hearing our story, Slustal seemed to have understood that we were not escaped slaves. Still, he was naturally curious about us wandering freely in a region ruled by the Winged Tribe, so he brought us to the village. His intention was to question us further here and, if we seemed suspicious, to process us as slaves, Slustal explained.
Although Slustal spoke matter-of-factly, Seol and the other Winged Tribe members listening turned pale and began to tremble.
“A w-wyvern!?”
“Lord Slustal, where is that wyvern now?”
“We’ve confirmed it flew deeper into the mountain range.”
“But won’t a wyvern’s wings reach this village too?!”
“If that happens, we’re finished!”
The atmosphere, filled with surprise at Mistral and Nimia’s true identities, immediately turned into a great commotion. The Winged Tribe people scrambled out of the circle and rushed back to their homes. No doubt they were frantically gathering their precious belongings and food, preparing for the wyvern’s potential attack.
Seeing the commotion among the villagers, the slaves confined in the prison cells lining the road also showed signs of fear. The slaves knew that if any disturbance occurred in this village, they would be the first to be abandoned.
“Hmph, so much noise!”
Then, Seol, who had been cowering before Mistral until just moments ago, suddenly became spirited for some reason.
“How dare you make such a fuss in front of the Divine Race members!”
“But,” he said to a perplexed Winged Tribe man, his breath coming in sharp puffs. “That’s right, isn’t it, Slustal? You’re going to commission this Dragon Person girl to deal with the wyvern, aren’t you?”
*Sigh.* Everyone slumped their shoulders. Unlike Slustal, this man named Seol seemed rather petty. Moments ago, he was ogling her vulgarly, but as soon as he learned her race, he started to cower, and now he’s making his own self-serving interpretations to drive the conversation.
“Let me tell you, I don’t want to fight that wyvern either!” After all, the red wyvern is Revalia! It’s true that I don’t want to fight my family.
“Besides, in an emergency, I’ll be too busy protecting my family to bother with the Winged Tribe,” Mistral stated pointedly, her expression showing utter weariness with Seol’s attitude. Seol and the other Winged Tribe members despaired at Mistral’s clear refusal.
“Now, now. It’s not a certainty that the wyvern will attack this village. More importantly, I’m curious about the results of the commission. Slustal, please report.” Unlike the Winged Tribe people bewildered by the wyvern’s existence, Guen remained calm. Hearing about a red wyvern that appeared around the same time as us, Guen must have imagined Revalia. And Revalia is our family. He must be confident that there won’t be any trouble.
By the way, what was Guen’s commission? We were curious about the reason Guen came here and what he planned to do with the Winged Tribe, so we watched Slustal, who had been asked to report. Slustal showed a slightly hesitant expression.
“As I said earlier, it all concerns the wyvern’s appearance and the capture of these individuals…”
“No, no, that won’t do. I believe I said this: ‘Scout whether we of the Imperial Honored Mansion can cross the mountain range.'”
“Haaaah?!”
Guen, the Imperial Honored Mansion?!
At this unexpected development, we almost rolled our eyes and fainted. How in the world did Guen become part of the Imperial Honored Mansion?! No, knowing Guen, he might be investigating the Imperial Honored Mansion from within. But still! Knowing Guen, he might have betrayed the imperial court and become the real Imperial Honored Mansion himself?! Various thoughts raced through our minds. Guen is truly a tricky character. He always confuses us and proceeds with things to his own advantage.
Whether he knew of our confusion or not, Guen smiled slyly and looked at Slustal. Pressed by Guen of the Divine Race, Slustal’s expression darkened further. Then, after a long silence, he finally opened his mouth with difficulty. However, he directed his words towards Seol, not Guen.
“Councilor of Elders Seol, I am still not convinced. It would be one thing if you were a member of the Divine Race faction, but for you, a neutral party, to side with members of the Divine Race… This is a serious violation of regulations.”
“Divine Race faction? Neutral faction? What do they mean?” We still didn’t understand the governing system of the Winged Tribe’s country.
Seol, questioned by Slustal, calmly retorted, “What are you saying? I am aware of my neutral stance. However, Slustal, that pertains only to our dealings with the neighboring Demon Race and Divine Race countries, doesn’t it? Lord Guen is not from the Karmar Divine Kingdom but from the Berisalia Empire, a distant eastern country. In that case, wouldn’t he be considered a foreign guest here? I am merely accommodating the requests of a Divine Race guest.”
“But…”
As Slustal stammered, Seol continued, “Lord Guen and the others wish to cross the mountain range to the west by any means necessary. We are simply assisting them. There is no need for regulations like Divine Race faction or neutral faction, would you not agree? Please understand, Slustal.” Guen watched Seol persuade Slustal with a wicked smile.
