Chapter 368. Omen (2)
After some time, a couple of people rushed into Chi-Woo’s room hearing his scream. Sitting on his bed, Chi-Woo hung his head. He didn’t dare to raise his head because Evelyn was staring intently at him with her arms crossed. Her mouth was smiling, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes at all. It was scary.
Chi-Woo knew he didn’t do anything wrong, but for some reason, it felt like he had become a sinner. It was all because of one person. Chi-Woo looked warily at the figure wiggling in one corner of his bed. It was the girl with pigtails with a splash of freckles on her nose. An outsider would’ve thought she was some innocent country b.u.mpkin, and they would be shocked to hear her true ident.i.ty—the central figure of the Ca.s.siubia League, the Last Dragon.
Besides wondering why a figure of such standing would show up at Shalyh, Chi-Woo wondered why she was lying next to him when he woke up. In the first place, he was confused about why he was in his room instead of his office when he opened his eyes. Everything was all over the place.
“…So,” after a long silence, Evelyn said, “I remember guiding you to your own room. Can I ask why you are sleeping here, of all places?”
“Hm. Well, it’s because I’m quite busy,” the Last Dragon said with a long sigh. “I thought I would need to wait only a day or two, but he stayed asleep for longer than I thought. Thus, I came to check his condition…”
“And?”
“There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with him. Then I got bored while just looking at him, so I got onto the bed to rest. And while I was observing his face, I fell asleep without even realizing it.” Was it her imagination that there was a part in the Last Dragon’s explanation that she should’ve explained?
No, it wasn’t a misunderstanding. The ends of Evelyn’s eyes arched, and her lips trembled. Things were looking dangerous. Chi-Woo gulped, but after listening to the two’s conversation, it seemed clear that he had been sleeping longer than he thought. In the end, Evelyn let out a long sigh and peeled her eyes away from the smiling girl.
“I know it’s not your fault,” she said to Chi-Woo.
“Yes, that’s…the case?”
“Yes, but…” As Chi-Woo nodded, the corners of Evelyn’s lips twisted. “It still makes me angry.”
“…”
“Because of Brother-in-law, even I didn’t dare do this, but what? Some stray cat crawls in here and…!” Though a mighty dragon had been demeaned as a small animal, the Last Dragon didn’t appear even the slightest bit annoyed. Instead, she chuckled and mimicked a cat by bringing her clenched fists to her cheeks and meowing.
Chi-Woo heard Evelyn heaving and quickly opened his mouth, “How long did I sleep for?”
Evelyn collected her breath and spread out her hand instead of answering. All five fingers were up.
“F-Five months?”
“…Of course not.” That seemed to mean he had slept for five days. It was surprising. He thought it had been a couple of minutes at most. Perhaps this was the effect of raising two tiers at once.
“Do you know how surprised we were? We couldn’t find you at your lodging place and saw you just sitting inside the office. And you didn’t wake up no matter what we tried…”
Chi-Woo scratched his head. If he had known he would be knocked out for so long, he would’ve told them beforehand.
“At first, we thought there was some problem. So I called Aida, Steam Bun, and even Ms. Noel for help…”
But since there was no problem with Chi-Woo, there was no way to heal him. And while they all paced around in panic not knowing what to do, an unexpected guest came to Shalyh. The Seven Stars’ members asked the Last Dragon to take a look at Chi-Woo. She recognized what condition Chi-Woo was in immediately and told them that Chi-Woo was manipulating his own body so he would naturally wake up given enough time.
After hearing this explanation, Chi-Woo turned to the freckled girl. The Last Dragon was the only existence who could rival his brother in the Ca.s.siubia League. Knowing how valuable the time of such a being was, Chi-Woo felt a bit sorry for keeping her here for so long.
“I would’ve waited a bit longer if I knew you were coming,” Chi-Woo said.
“It’s fine. It’s my fault for not telling you first and popping in without warning. I wanted to give you a surprise.” The Last Dragon shrugged, and her eyes sparkled. “Besides, I was quite amazed. It seems like it was worth coming here.” The Last Dragon suddenly leaned forward. “You know that thing called AI Armor? When can you supply it to the Ca.s.siubia League?”ƒ??e????૦???. ???
Chi-Woo flinched in surprise but managed to answer when Evelyn made a barrier between the two. “Well—I’ll have to talk to Ms. Yeriel about that.”
“I already did, but it didn’t lead to anything constructive. That child told me to talk to you.”
“Hm… What did you two talk about?”
“She said she didn’t care whether I was the Last Dragon and whatnot, so I should stop being a hindrance and go throw a firework festival with my breath or something and called me a d.a.m.n lizard b.i.t.c.h.”
Chi-Woo doubted his ears. “…Did she really say that?”
“I neither added nor exaggerated anything.”
Chi-Woo was speechless seeing how serious she appeared.
“First of all, I apologize from the bottom of my heart on Ms. Yeriel’s behalf.”
“No, it’s fine. Masters crazed in one area are usually like that.” The Last Dragon laughed aloud like she didn’t care too much about it. “Anyways, it really is mystical. Nothing can explain it except that it"s some alien technology.” She glanced at Chi-Woo and said,"“Truthfully, I came to Shalyh for another purpose, but I can’t not do something after seeing an item like that. I wish to procure supplies at whatever costs…” It seemed the Last Dragon had really taken a liking to the AI Armor to go so far.
“It can’t be helped if it’s difficult in this instance. But even if it’s at a later time, I want your word that I will be able to get the supplies,” the Last Dragon egged him on, and Chi-Woo had a difficult time turning her down further. He sent a message and soon afterward, Yeriel arrived.
“You are awake? There was an uproar a couple of days ago that you suddenly collapsed…” Yeriel said while walking in when she noticed the Last Dragon. ‘Ugh,’ she blurted out and looked displeased.
“As you already know, she took a great liking to the AI Armor,” Chi-Woo said. “Of course, I will make the final decision, but I want to ask for your opinions too, Ms. Yeriel.”
“…Who knows,” Yeriel said with disinterest. “I already gave her my answer. It’s possible at a later time, but right now, it’s tough. There isn’t enough for our family members. Are you really gonna look out for your housemates too?”
Housemates were those who weren’t family members but shared the same living s.p.a.ce. In a way, this was a perfect way to describe humanity’s relations.h.i.+p with the Ca.s.siubia League. Before, Chi-Woo would’ve denied what Yeriel was saying, but he neither agreed nor disagreed this time. It was because he was disappointed by the Ca.s.siubia League’s recent att.i.tude. If they hadn’t been allies, Chi-Woo would’ve fought the commander-in-chief of the last Ca.s.siubia League’s army, Ariel, or whatever she was called.
“Oh, it seems we’ve made quite a bad impression on you.” The Last Dragon smiled awkwardly. It seemed she had heard about what happened too. “Even the Ca.s.siubia League isn’t a perfect organization. In some ways, it is more disorganized and chaotic than most, because it is a coalition of dozens of tribes and species.” The Last Dragon cleared her throat. “Thus, I know there are several tribes who might show an unfavorable att.i.tude toward humanity. But I hope you realize that the same is true of the opposite, and that there are tribes who look favorably at humanity. That includes me, and the numbers are only increasing.”
“I see.”
“…Also, the materials for the AI Armor are being supplied from the Ca.s.siubia League’s Mountain range. In this manner, we have legitimate rights to claim owners.h.i.+p over some parts of the production.”
“If you are going to use that as an excuse to meddle in, you can stop doing that from now on,” Yeriel immediately responded. She looked uncaring of whatever the Last Dragon said. Her mood hadn’t been good since she met the Last Dragon. The Last Dragon had continued to pester and bother her when she was already busy with research and production, so she was still annoyed. But it seemed she had still come to this meeting since Chi-Woo called her.
“This puts me in a difficult position.” The Last Dragon sounded troubled by Yeriel’s firm att.i.tude. She realized that Yeriel wasn’t someone she could convince with just a couple of words.
“It seems I should get on your good side first to make any progress on this conversation,” the Last Dragon said, and Chi-Woo was astonished by how well she maintained her calm toward Yeriel. He wondered what would’ve happened if his brother had been in this spot instead of the Last Dragon…
It was then the Last Dragon clapped. “All right, I would like to sign a contract to get a guarantee of the next available supply.”
A contract? Yeriel’s eyebrow rose, and she snorted. “You must have a lot of money?”
“Yes, certainly. Loads of it.” The Last Dragon flicked her fingers. And to everyone’s surprise, they suddenly found themselves in a deep cave that looked like a hidden storage.
“Welcome to my lair,” the Last Dragon said carefreely, but everyone was left speechless. It felt as if the room they had been in had warped into another s.p.a.ce; and wherever they turned, they saw sparkling gold and gems.
“It appears that you aren’t that interested in common currency,” the Last Dragon said, and their scenery changed again. “So, to get your interest—” Their constantly changing scenery suddenly stopped s.h.i.+fting.
“Yes, this looks all right.” It was a place filled with piles of stone. Of course, these stones weren’t just any ordinary ones, and each emitted a mystical glow. Furthermore, there was a huge pile of ingots that let out an array of colorful lights. Every piece looked special and unique.
“This is where I gathered the stones that looked quite valuable throughout my lifetime…how is it?”
Yeriel didn’t answer. Though she was standing still, her eyes were moving nonstop. It moved sideways, then around until it spun in circles.
“Ah—” She seemed to have been caught in a spell of dizziness as she staggered. This room was full of stones and gems that she couldn’t obtain even if she wanted to, and as someone who knew how valuable these materials were, her eyes wouldn’t stop fluttering.
“If you promise to supply the goods at a suitable time, you can use everything in this room as much as you want.”
“Oh good—wait , but h-how much…?”
“Didn’t I just tell you?” A relaxed smile hung on the Last Dragon’s lips, “As much as you want.”
“Ha!” Yeriel’s body stiffened.
“Take it all. No need to hold back.”
That was basically a blank check. Yeriel had struck a gold mine, and she shuddered in joy.
“Do you like the terms of our contract?” the Last Dragon asked, and Yeriel turned to Chi-Woo. Her eyes brimmed with all sorts of emotions and seemed to be pleading, saying that she could make an AI Armor far surpa.s.sing even a high-quality one with these materials. Chi-Woo shrugged and told her to do as she wished, and Yeriel turned back to the Last Dragon with blazing eyes.
“From this point on, you and I are one body.”
“Huh?”
“Any attack made against you will be the same as attacking me! Here, you can just take me now! What are you doing? Just take me away!” Yeriel clutched the Last Dragon’s hands and collapsed into her clutches.
“…” The Last Dragon became speechless at Yeriel’s abrupt change of att.i.tude. Then, she calmly turned back to Chi-Woo and asked, “That’s what she said. So, can I take her with me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“She’s already mine. That’s the price she promised me for getting the toharis.”
“Hm. What to do? If that’s true, we both have equal authority over this child…” The Last Dragon pondered about this and talked as if she had a good idea. “All right then, we can make this child our foster daughter. We won’t have any problems then.”
“?”
“Ah, for your information, I’m fine with being the second. It’s okay even if I’m not the first,” she said not to Chi-Woo, but to Evelyn. Evelyn was about to protest, but nodded after organizing her thoughts.
“That changes things. It’s not a bad idea.”
“Then I will take that as you giving me permission. I will call you sister from now on.”
“All right. Let’s work together.”
The two conversed and carried on without a care for the person they were actually talking about. Yeriel, who had just been made their daughter, dived into the ocean of gems, and Evelyn watched her like a great mother would. Chi-Woo closed his eyes. He suddenly had a great desire to see his brother.
“I don’t need it right at this moment, but could you also tell me the technology you used to set up the defense system in the AI Armor?” The Last Dragon made a sly attempt to exploit Yeriel’s moment of extreme joy.
“No.” Thankfully, Yeriel hadn’t completely lost her mind. “Even if I want to tell you in detail, I can’t because even I don’t know.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hm, how should I put it? It was a bit out of luck that the low-end AI Armor came out so nicely.” The most Yeriel could do was manipulate the alloy; after changing the composition of the alloy, she made it accept mana and refined it. Yet when she opened the lid of the furnace and saw the final product, she was surprised to see a result that exceeded her expectations.
“I don’t know the exact reason, but it’s probably because of the toharis.”
Toharis were a fire that moved of their own will. They were used to produce all AI Armors. And in the process of making the product, it seemed the toharis’ will to protect their users was pa.s.sed on to it. Yeriel said that was the only explanation and focused on the gems around her again.
“I see.” After confirming that Yeriel wasn’t lying, the Last Dragon accepted her answer. “It’s not the first time I had this thought…but there’s always a reason behind your actions. No, should I say that things always fall perfectly in place? It really is amazing.”
The toharis that Chi-Woo got after much hards.h.i.+p superseded his expectations. It was then Chi-Woo became caught in a strange sense of déjà vu. As soon as he got an ability that would allow him to connect with the AI Armor, the Last Dragon came to him and provided materials for the item. It was too coincidental. Something like this had happened before. Whatever he did, everything fit together perfectly.
It wasn’t something he could simply be happy about because a difficult test always followed a fortune like this. It was then Chi-Woo suddenly got an ominous feeling. Now that he thought about it, there was no way the Last Dragon would have come all the way to Shalyh for any reason.
“Hm…it’s not like I’m giving these away for free, but why do I feel a bit sad?” The Last Dragon commented while watching Yeriel humming and shoveling one bucketful of precious gems after another into her belongings.
“Just endure it, sister. She’s our daughter,” Evelyn said.
“Fufu. I suppose such is the way a mother thinks. How great is motherly love.”
After hearing Evelyn and the Last Dragon talk back and forth for a bit, Chi-Woo interjected. “There’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?” The Last Dragon said without even turning around. Her eyes were fixed on Yeriel, who was cleaning away the entire area.
“Did you come all the way here for the AI Armor?”
The Last Dragon glanced at Chi-Woo from the corner of her eyes. Then, her eyes widened, and her mouth gaped slightly open.
“…Ah, that’s right.”