Chapter 427
Chapter 427. Steam and Blood Smoke
――Drip, drip.
A cloudy white liquid drips from Leila’s hands.
“Haah… mm.”
She gasps with a troubled, feverish breath. Her pale complexion flushes crimson all over, and beads of sweat glisten on her forehead—
“So hot…!!”
——Because she was submerged in steaming hot water up to her shoulders.
(…What am I doing at a time like this?)
In the boiling hot spring, Leila wonders while sweat trickles down her body.
She was in an open-air bath located on a small hill, overlooking the Aulitos Lake and the town of Backos.
Backos is surrounded by mountains, and digging into the ground reportedly unleashes hot water from all over the place. The viscous, cloudy white water is said to have various benefits, such as preventing skin roughness, alleviating back pain, and recovering from fatigue; soaking up to her shoulders causes her to sweat profusely. It’s said that alternating between entering and leaving while staying hydrated is good for beauty and health.
“Ahh, this water feels great!”
A carefree telepathic message from Barbara. Beside Leila, the stabbing sword 【Frodiida】 was soaking in the hot spring as well, and Barbara was enjoying the atmosphere.
“Isn’t it!?”
As she replied telepathically, Leila wore a glum expression.
She glanced at the beautiful Aulitos Lake as the sun began to set—not at the lake, but at the mountains on the opposite side, which were being dyed in burning shades of red.
Somewhere in those mountains, there’s said to be an ancient ruin that serves as the hideout for bandits.
A few hours earlier, Alex had set out with Arthur and the old man’s group to hunt the bandits. Leila had come to see them off partway but ended up staying behind due to her lack of physical combat ability in human form, fearing an ambush from the Sword Saint.
So, here she was, passing the time at the hot spring inn.
“My skin is getting so smooth and beautiful! This is the best way to pamper myself!” the inn’s slogan insisted, and hearing that meant she had no choice but to soak in the hot springs. Even if she was a dragon, she couldn’t resist the desire to be beautiful… which is precisely why her ancestors devised things like transformation magic.
“Mmm…”
However, she felt restless. She wanted to thoroughly appreciate Alex when he returned.
(If only I could take them out with a single blow if I could use my true breath against those bandits…!)
Half-submerged and bubbling with frustration, Leila clenched her teeth.
No matter where or how many of them were hiding in the ruins, she could eliminate them all in her dragon form with a single breath. Even if the Sword Saint was there, she could roast them before they even had the chance to draw their swords…!
But now that she was hiding her identity, that was an impossible thought.
“What if I just pretend to be a mysterious passing dragon and secretly burn them to ashes…?”
Leila’s gaze turned ominously sharp as she stared at the mountain.
“No, no! That would be a bad idea!”
Beside Leila, the stabbing sword trembled in protest.
“What if someone saw you transform or fly away!”
“Uh, I could use stealth magic to manage that…”
“It would stand out a ton when you release your breath!”
“…I’d just eliminate the witnesses!!”
“That’s even worse!”
Leila could imagine Barbara covering her face in disbelief.
“I can wrap it up in an instant…”
“Sure, but Alex and the others are probably already there, right?”
“Is it still not a good idea?”
“It’s impossible to clean everything up without being seen. Alex will take them out.”
“If I could die at Alex’s hands, I’d gladly accept…♡”
“That’s not the point!”
Well, she understood. Leila was only half-joking.
“I won’t do it because Alex would be sad. Though I could be a source of power for him.”
“If that were to happen, he’d break down…! I wouldn’t want to see Alex hurt Leila.”
“Haah~,” Barbara sighed.
“In all seriousness, it’s not a good look for a dragon to rampage within the alliance, trampling over human and beastmen races…”
Leila pursed her lips.
Previously, Leila had mercilessly burned the lakeside pirates, but that was after disguising herself as a human mage. Even if the opponents were lawless, if a dragon were seen mercilessly attacking humans and burning them… it could stir fear and hatred towards dragonkind.
With word spreading about Zilbagias being exiled with the White Dragon from the alliance, it would certainly be terrible to attract such attention.
“…I wonder how my kin are doing right now.”
It’s been a while since she entered the alliance, yet she hadn’t seen any White Dragons nor heard any stories. Since even the Night Elf’s intelligence network hadn’t tracked their movements, it seemed they were doing everything to avoid notice.
“Do you miss them?”
“No, not particularly. I feel nostalgic about the faces from my father’s memories, though…”
Dragons stay with their parents for a while after hatching. If other hatchlings were born around the same time, they would grow up together, but if not, they are too physically and magically vulnerable, so they typically begin interacting with other dragons only after growing up and developing self-awareness.
Since Leila had no childhood friends among dragons, she was isolated during her upbringing. She had only casually met acquaintances of her father’s; otherwise, she had little interaction.
Before she fully grew up, the betrayal of the Dark Dragon occurred, and she was captured…
“They’re probably not bad people; they were my father’s friends.”
And if they learned of her well-being, they’d surely rejoice.
“But for me now, the only one I can call family is… Alex.”
Conversely, if they learned of her current circumstances, it could lead to troublesome interference.
And with kind-hearted Alex, if the other White Dragons asked him to, “Please free Leila,” what kind of reaction would he have—
“No way, that’s not happening.”
Leila clenched her hands around her knees, focusing her strength.
“I’ll follow Alex wherever he goes.”
No matter what kind of ending awaited ahead…!
——But then she realized she was not accompanying Alex on his bandit eradication mission, instead basking in the hot spring.
“Muu…!!”
With a bubbling sigh escaping her, Leila’s mood swiftly darkened—
“Hehe. You’re worried about your boyfriend, aren’t you?”
At that moment, a sultry voice interrupted.
Leila looked over to see a beautiful woman lounging a bit away, sitting on the edge of the hot spring.
She smiled warmly at Leila. Her name was Gizelle. The only woman among the old man’s group. According to Alex, she was “no ordinary person,” and indeed she seemed to be a skilled spy, although not particularly extraordinary in combat, similar to Leila, who had chosen to stay behind.
“…Yes. I can’t help it.”
Leila barely raised her gaze, shyly nodding.
If asked whether she was worried, naturally, she felt concern. After all, they were facing a group that was not just any mere bandits; there was a possibility of the Sword Saint being present.
“If it were an expedition as Zilbagias, I wouldn’t be worried at all.”
The Sword Saint—an ultimate warrior yet weak in magic. While he boasted incomparable strength in close combat, he was painfully vulnerable to magic. He was not an enemy of Zilbagias, who could manipulate a myriad of curses.
“The 7th Demon Lord’s Prince was truly powerful, you know…”
Barbara murmured wistfully. With the words coming from someone involved, her conviction resonated strongly. Even with the powerful support of priests and guides, Zilbagias had managed to fend off the onslaught of the Sword Saint and the Fist Saint.
Yet the Alex of today was not Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias but Hero Alexander. His magical power had significantly deteriorated compared to his time as a demon, and due to the continuous use of transformation magic, his strength had further declined.
Alongside them were Arthur and others, meaning they still had powerful cards like 【Name Calling】, 【Teleportation Spell】, and 【Forbidden Arts】 at their disposal. The only thing they could use was necromancy, but against the Sword Saint, it couldn’t be deemed effective…
She believed that with Alex, a master of practical combat, nothing too troubling would occur.
“However, on the battlefield, absolutes do not exist.”
That aspect meant that if Leila flew in and incinerated everything with her breath, there was “absolutely” no chance of her being ambushed and sliced down by the Sword Saint…
“Muu…!!”
While still in the scalding water, Leila started trembling, desperately quelling the urge to dispel her human form and fly away to turn the bandits to ashes.
But perhaps because the blood was rushing to her head, she began to feel dizzy—
“Oh dear, don’t overheat.”
Gizelle stood, pulling Leila from the scorching water from behind.
“Ah… I’m sorry…!?”
Leila was taken aback by the soft, bountiful texture pressing against her back.
“Here, drink this cold water.”
“Thank you…”
Sitting on the edge of the hot spring, Leila observed closely as Gizelle poured her a cup of water.
She’d never really paid attention to the human body’s curves before…
(They really are big when you look at them again…)
Primarily in comparison to herself.
But she didn’t think Gizelle had such a prominent figure normally; when dressed, it didn’t seem too notable—was she perhaps trying to avoid drawing attention?
Still, feeling the difference in size was quite shocking.
When she was at the Demon Lord Castle, she had engaged in naked bonding sessions with colleagues, who were mostly beastmen or Night Elves (and Liliana), lean races, meaning she had never seen or touched anything large before.
(Humans produce milk from here to nurture babies, right?)
Gently touching her own, which wasn’t a feature she had, since dragons were oviparous.
(…Is it better to have a bigger one?)
Mainly for functional reasons. Earlier, she mentioned that “the only one I can call family is Alex,” but—
(Family… babies…)
Muuuu, Leila groaned. By the way, what was happening with the 【Demon of Lust】 who learned transformation magic by now…
†††
(What a peculiar girl…)
On the other hand, Gizelle watched Leila with an amused expression as she squeezed her chest and observed without reserve.
Compared to the eye-catching Hero Alexander, Leila led a rather low-key existence. She wasn’t necessarily shy, but she was apparently so infatuated with Alex that she seemed not to notice anything else.
Today, if they hadn’t ended up staying behind, they probably wouldn’t have spoken much at all.
(They say she’s a powerful magician… but)
You can’t tell by appearance, she mused internally.
As for Alex and Leila, of course, she had heard stories from the ship’s crew members. According to loose-tongued ones, despite his cheerful demeanor, Alex was secretly a wielder of darkness. Following their conversation, he had promptly been punched by another crew member, meaning he was probably supposed to keep that quiet.
Naturally, she had reported this to the old man’s group. Since they would later witness the combat today, it wasn’t significant information—but a Hero with a darkness attribute. It was indeed rare, unprecedented even.
In contrast, Leila was a powerful light magician who could manipulate secret arts, able to roast the sails of ships from a distance. However, it seems she couldn’t perform healing miracles, indicating she wasn’t a priest.
There were no other details; the crew members didn’t know at all where she was from or why she was traveling aboard the NeedAlun, what her goals were.
Despite her usual carefree demeanor, she seemed unfathomable. It was as if a gaping black hole had opened up, leaving vital information lacking—
(Well, it’s certain she’s a Hero, though…)
Regarding Alex, Gizelle didn’t feel particularly worried. He somehow gave off a vibe similar to theirs. She had a hunch that he might be one of the behind-the-scenes folks, and deemed it best not to pry too deeply.
——She didn’t want to accidentally step on the Church’s tail.
More importantly, she had a personal interest in the still-mysterious Leila.
(Because she seems interesting…)
Thinking that it would be a great opportunity, she decided to break the ice.
“Hey, is that sword really something special to you?”
She gestured to the magnificently constructed stabbing sword next to Leila and asked.
Leila had walked in holding only her sword, clearly not caring about her nudity while undressing in the changing room. Gizelle was taken aback at that—a privately rented open-air bath attached to the inn, meaning there were no other guests, and no need for modesty. Still, it was precisely because of that that Gizelle wasn’t even armed with a knife.
If Leila were indeed a swordmaster, she’d have been impressed, thinking, “Ah, how diligent to remain ever-prepared.” But her movements seemed rather slow, and she didn’t come across as particularly skilled…
“This sword… yes.”
Leila drew her gaze from her chest to the stabbing sword, offering a fragile smile.
“It’s a memento from a friend.”
“…I see.”
(That’s a heavier response than I expected—) Gizelle thought. (Quite unexpected—)
Wondering why she always found herself in such situations, Gizelle sighed internally.
Although recognized for her prowess as a spy, she was notoriously known for often getting her assessments wrong. Out of every point she thought was spot-on, about half would be way off. She often found herself accidentally touching delicate areas while trying to delve into others’ minds, leading to comical chaos.
(In the last town, I assumed the Ark Deacon Trading Company had decisive evidence, only to be proven wrong. My attempts at using charm on corrupt officials backfired as they turned out to be devoted family men and wouldn’t even look my way.)
Ultimately, she resolved the issue using her undeniable stealth and lockpicking skills to filch important documents from the magistrate’s mansion’s vault.
Though her assessments often went awry, her style consisted of adapting on the spot and handling circumstances with skill and fortitude.
“He really loved baths when he was alive, so I wanted him to at least enjoy the feeling of a hot spring… that’s why I came in with him.”
“I see… I’m sure he’s happy.”
“Yes. He’s very satisfied.”
Leila nodded with a reassuring conviction.
(What an extraordinary girl she is…)
Gizelle felt invigorated seeing that Leila remained a mystery in her own right.
Well, that’s precisely why it was fun…
(Since there’s still plenty of time until the old man and others return…)
There was ample time for them to bond.
“Hey, hey, how did you and Alex meet?”
“Eh?! U-Um, it’s a long story…”
As Leila turned red and stumbled over her words, Gizelle grinned in delight.
——Gizelle didn’t feel too concerned about the Sword Saint among the bandits.
With Alex around, and Arthur, renowned as a hero, plus two other capable swordsmen, Shuken and Kirk, all backed by the old man who was also a magician—
(Well, nothing too troublesome should happen.)
Given that it was the Sword Saint, there would be some potential for damage, but as far as Gizelle was concerned, as long as the esteemed ones were safe, that was what mattered.
(I wonder how they’re doing now…?)
She glanced at the mountains while Leila pondered how to recount their encounter.
