Chapter 111
* * *
Rattle, rattle.
Since it was near the beastmen’s forest, the road was not maintained at all.
Moreover, since it was a carriage that didn’t consider passengers, Asil, who had sneaked aboard, began feeling carsick not long after departure.
“Ppiik… Ppikkwiik…”
This won’t do. I can’t hold on any longer!
Asil covered her mouth with her front paws, groaning, and jumped out as soon as she exited the protective barrier.
She even hid behind a tree for a while to avoid being spotted by adult beastmen.
Only after the carriage sounds completely disappeared did she cautiously poke her head out.
‘No one around?’
She felt guilty for sneaking out without telling her mom, but if she successfully carried out the envoy role and returned, it would be fine.
Thinking that, Asil sniffed the air.
It was to find Edenber, who would be in the human camp.
‘This way?’
The distance was far, so she couldn’t be certain, but the smell of humans was strongly coming from one direction.
It was probably the human camp.
Asil decided to head that way first.
‘If it’s dangerous, I’ll run away immediately.’
Asil moved her steps slowly toward where the humans were, without lowering her guard.
But.
The human camp was so far away that no matter how much she walked and walked, it didn’t appear.
Moreover, since the scenery was all the same grass, it even became boring.
“Ppiihaaaam.”
How much farther do I have to go?
Asil yawned widely. And the moment she closed her eyes tightly because of the tears that welled up.
“Mommyaaat!”
Her foot suddenly slipped.
She hadn’t noticed the ground frozen solid from the snow last night and stepped on it.
“Ppiyaaaaaah!”
Asil slid all the way down the icy path.
Then she couldn’t avoid a suddenly appearing tree and hit her head straight on.
Boom!
The impacted tree fell with a loud noise.
Asil, having received a big shock to her head, lay flat on her back looking at the sky.
“Sss…”
Ouch, my head.
The sky was spinning, and everything in front of her eyes was whirling. Who’s here, where am I—?
It was then that she heard human voices for the first time in her life.
“Oh, look here. It’s a strangely shaped lizard.”
“Did it just headbutt the tree and knock it down?”
“Seems like it. It won’t get up for a while, so perfect.”
She wanted to check who they were, but everything was too dizzy to open her eyes.
In the meantime, she felt the humans pick her up and put her somewhere.
There was also the sound of clank, like iron bars closing.
“Wait, why is the lizard wearing a scarf around its neck? Could it be a beastman?”
“No way. Why would a beastman wander alone outside the barrier. It probably just wrapped a random piece of cloth around its neck.”
“Maybe. Well, if it looks like an unusual animal, that’s even better. That way, they’ll think we poached it blinded by money…”
Even in her fading consciousness, Asil thought.
No, I am a beastman.
Above all, I’m not a lizard, I’m a black dragon.
At that moment, hiss, gas was sprayed over Asil’s head.
It was sleeping gas used by poachers to prevent animals from rampaging.
Asil soon fell into a shallow sleep.
* * *
It was strong sleeping gas enough to knock out an elephant, but it had little effect on the baby dragon beastman Asil.
Asil, waking up quickly, opened her eyes wide.
Thanks to sleeping soundly, her headache was completely gone.
‘Where is this?’
She sat up abruptly and looked around, but it was completely dark in all directions.
It wasn’t night, because even with a beastman’s excellent vision day or night, she couldn’t see anything.
When she flailed both front paws, she felt something like iron bars.
It was an iron cage made of very sturdy material to prevent animals from escaping.
Of course, to Asil, it was just a passing extra stick.
‘Why is this here?’
Because she had just woken up, Asil didn’t yet realize she had been kidnapped.
So she bent the iron bars left and right like licorice to get out, then carefully bent the twisted bars back to their original shape.
‘I don’t know what this is, but if it’s broken, the owner might be sad.’
Then, as she tried to move forward, a piece of cloth touched her face with a thump.
When she pushed the cloth aside, light finally entered her eyes.
The kidnappers had covered the iron cage with cloth so Asil couldn’t see outside.
Only then able to look around, Asil opened her mouth wide.
‘Oh my.’
This was a tent used by humans.
How did I end up in a human tent? Did those humans from earlier bring me here?
Right at that moment, noisy voices came from outside.
“I am disappointed, Sir Dylan. How could someone who should be an example to all make such a choice?”
It was a voice reprimanding someone. The voice kept getting louder, as if coming this way.
‘I need to hide first.’
She hadn’t fully grasped the situation yet, but she hid her body under the bed.
After completely tucking in her tail so as not to be seen, the cloth serving as the tent door swung open.
The man leading was someone Asil knew well.
Marquis Skya, Karon Skya.
“No matter how stagnant the conflict is progressing, poaching wild animals is unacceptable. This is behavior that absolutely cannot be overlooked.”
“I do not understand what you are saying, Marquis Skya. What is in my tent.”
Dylan calmly replied right behind Karon.
Asil perked her head up at the familiar voice she hadn’t heard in a full 7 years.
‘It’s the knight human!’
How had the knight human who was closest to her changed?
Driven by rising curiosity, Asil stealthily stretched her neck and looked up at Dylan.
Compared to 7 years ago, there were no major changes.
At most, he had become a bit more dependable-looking.
At that very moment, Edenber appeared behind Dylan.
“…!”
Asil almost cried out “Sss!”.
If she hadn’t covered her mouth the instant she saw him, she definitely would have.
Edenber, seen after 7 years, had grown remarkably well.
His sparkling golden hair and pretty purple eyes were the same, but he had grown tall from looking youthful, appearing much cooler than when her brother Snowa transformed into human form.
But one thing that bothered her—
‘He looks incredibly depressed.’
His expression was very dark.
It seemed not because of the current situation, but his basic impression was dark.
He wasn’t particularly bright even 7 years ago, but…
‘Husband…’
What on earth happened while we were apart.
Asil gazed up at him steadily with round eyes.
Then, when Edenber tried to turn his gaze this way, she hurriedly pulled her head back under the bed.
In the meantime, Karon, who had gathered people here, nodded to his aide.
“Explain what you saw, Bjorn.”
“Yes. I clearly saw with my own eyes Sir Dylan enter the forest and catch a strangely shaped lizard.”
His aide, who was also Asil’s kidnapper, searched around and finally found the iron cage hidden in the corner.
Then he looked at Dylan arrogantly as if to say look at this.
“No doubt he planned to smuggle it into the capital and sell it to a holy water maker.”
Karon looked at Edenber with a deliberately stern expression.
“I am sorry to the duke, but this matter must be handled according to principle. Poaching while forgetting a knight’s duty during conflict.”
“Wait, this item is not mi—!”
“Open it, Bjorn.”
“Yes!”
The aide Bjorn, answering refreshingly, flung open the cloth covering the iron cage and shouted.
“Look here. Isn’t there a strangely shaped lizard inside the cage!”
However.
The cage was completely empty.
Moreover, the bars were intact, so it didn’t look like it escaped, it appeared as if there had been nothing from the start.
For a moment, Karon’s expression twisted.
Bjorn’s face, seeing the empty cage late, also hardened.
A hellish silence filled the tent.
That silence was broken by Edenber, who had been wearing a frosty cold expression.
“What are you trying to do right now?”
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
