Episode 181
The banquet hall inside the castle was magnificently decorated.
Beastmen usually enjoyed parties outdoors, so an indoor banquet was rare, but Brianna had specifically ordered it for the imperial delegation.
Asil attended in her original form, bringing her younger siblings along.
The young beastmen were naturally excited by the rare sight.
“Byaa!” (Sister! Look at that! There’s a super big chandelier hanging from the ceiling!)
Ari chattered without a moment’s rest, and Arin, who was usually indifferent to most things, also glanced at the tall vases placed everywhere with eyes full of interest.
Of course, it wasn’t because she was interested in flowers, but because she was looking for a suitable flower stalk to carry around.
And Asil was busy taking care of those two siblings.
“Yes, I see. It’s a very big chandelier, right? Arin, you can’t pull that out! Put it down!”
“Ppik!”
“Byaaaaa!” (Wooooah! It’s a huge cake!)
While she was stopping Arin from pulling out flower stalks, Ari chased after a freshly baked cake.
She quickly followed and brought her back, only to witness Arin walking around with a wreath decoration taken from the wall, holding it in both front paws like a weapon.
“Give that to me!”
“Ppik!”
Arin scurried away.
But as they say, there is a flying dragon above a running dragon; she was caught in no time by Asil’s storm-like wingbeats.
“Ppiiiiik!”
“Byaaaaa!” (Caaaake!)
Ari and Arin, tucked under each of her sides, struggled.
Asil let out a long sigh.
Since the situation was like this, it was impossible to even check if Edenber had arrived.
“What? My attendant disappeared? No, where did that human go again— Ah, right. He said he was going somewhere for a moment. I sent him on an errand, so don’t worry about it.”
Fear’s voice was heard nearby.
He must have asked Fear for understanding and stepped away for a moment, but there was no time to wonder where he had gone.
“Byaak!”
“Ppik!”
Because the two siblings were struggling on both sides.
Fortunately, Ion, who was in a similar plight, was nearby.
“No, Rai! Put it down!”
“Kwang!”
Asil headed toward the lion beastman brothers who were fighting over a tablecloth.
As soon as Ion’s younger brother, Rai, saw Asil, he let go of the tablecloth he was biting, causing Ion to roll backward several times.
“Aaaaah!”
Thud!
Leaving behind her older brother’s scream and the sound of the collision, Rai puffed out his chest as if acting mature.
He didn’t want to look like a prankster to the sister he liked.
Then, surprisingly, Ari and Arin also became quiet in an instant.
It was due to a sense of rivalry toward a peer, and only then could Asil set her siblings down on the floor.
Meanwhile, Ion returned with a lump on his head.
Asil was about to greet him but paused, sensing something strange.
After widening her eyes and looking for what was different from usual for a moment, she realized that what should naturally be there was missing and shouted out.
“Heck, where did your mane go?”
That’s right.
The mane he cherished like a treasure had completely vanished.
Ion, who was groaning to hide the pain, immediately became dejected.
“Ah, this… something happened.”
However, the atmosphere was abruptly cut off by Ari’s subsequent shout.
“Byaa!” (Baldy!)
“What? No, I’m not bald!”
“Byaaa!” (It’s a baldy, a baldy!)
“Ppik!”
Even Arin poked Ion’s head with a vine stalk she had gotten from somewhere.
On top of that, as Rai started backing away with eyes saying he didn’t want to be with him, the hurt Ion shouted out.
“Ah, I said I’m not baaaaaald—!”
Just then, as if by appointment, the music changed.
It was a cheerful polka.
“Byaa byaa!” (Sister, let’s go!)
Taking advantage of the gap while Ion was huffing, Ari dragged Asil to the dance floor in the center.
As Arin and Rai followed behind them, the flustered Ion moved his feet busily.
“W-Wait for me!”
* * *
Dancing together with many people was very fun.
Without knowing how time passed, the three black dragons and two lions danced until their feet ached.
Then, eventually, the time for the children to go to sleep approached.
“Byaa…” (I’m sleepy, sister…)
Ari rubbed her half-closed eyes. Arin also let out a long yawn, ppihaaaam.
Asil headed outside with her two siblings.
Ion also followed out with his brother, who was yawning loudly, and asked.
“Are you going in now too?”
“No, I’m going to come back after just dropping off my siblings.”
She planned to look for Edenber after returning.
Then, Ion hesitated for a moment and said.
“Earlier… you felt it, right? The way the other guys were looking at you.”
“Yeah.”
She knew. Throughout the dance, the male beastmen had been glancing at her with unusual eyes.
They were likely thinking of performing a courtship dance once she was left alone.
Ion, as if he had something to say, hesitated and then sighed.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll handle it yourself.”
“Why, are you going to perform a courtship dance too?”
“I don’t propose to a baldy!”
“Even though you’re a baldy yourself.”
“Eeeek…! Without even knowing why I ended up like this! I’m leaving!”
The sulky Ion quickly disappeared while carrying his already sleeping brother on his back.
I mean, you have to tell me why you ended up like that for me to know.
Asil stared at his back for a moment and then turned around.
And after bringing her siblings, who had fallen asleep in the meantime, to the bedroom, she flapped her wings diligently to return to the banquet hall.
The inside of the castle was quiet, perhaps because everyone was attending the banquet.
Just then, she felt something flying rapidly toward this direction from outside.
Asil, who was on guard, breathed out a breath as it was.
Boom!
The flames that pierced through the window streaked across the night sky.
It was a decisive attack, but unfortunately, there was no damage to the opponent.
Against the background of the broken window, a giant eagle revealed itself.
“Did you know I was coming?”
The eagle smiled slyly.
Asil drew a firm line.
“You came again even after being hit like that by me last year.”
“It’s different from last year. You’ll be surprised if you know how strong I’ve become.”
“Well, I don’t think I’ll be particularly surprised.”
“No. You will definitely be surprised. How beautiful a dance I perform…”
The eagle’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“Just watch.”
Blue-sharpened claws approached in an instant.
It was the moment when Asil, who had also brought out her claws, was about to respond.
Kang!
A sharp metallic sound filled the empty hallway.
At the sudden loud noise, Asil and the eagle looked at one place at the same time.
Standing there was a human whose face was half-covered by a long muffler.
Being in the darkness, nothing was clearly visible except for the muffler fluttering in the wind, but for some reason, the color of the muffler looked identical to the color of Ion’s mane.
The eagle made an openly disgusted expression.
“A human?”
But soon, it changed to just a slight frown.
“No, a lion? I think I smell a fox too.”
“…”
“Either way, I’m first. You, who gloomily hides your tribe by humanizing, stay out of it.”
“…I can’t do that.”
Asil flinched at the low-pitched voice.
It seemed intentionally modulated to a low tone, but that voice is definitely Edenber.
Edenber glanced at Asil.
“Because I want Asil to accept my dance with all her might.”
“That’s the same for me too?”
The eagle sneered.
“I wondered why you hid your tribe, was it to intervene in the courtship dance that has already begun?”
“It’s not intervening, it’s an efficient judgment.”
Edenber readjusted his grip on the sword he was loosely holding.
“Because rather than wasting stamina dealing with a weak eagle, it would be much better to dance with me from the start.”
“What…?”
“You won’t be a match anyway, will you?”
“…”
A crack appeared in the eagle’s expression.
The belittling of being weak in front of the person he liked had worked properly.
For a while, only the sound of flapping wings was heard in the hallway.
Finally, after a long silence, the eagle wore a smirk on its beak.
“Ha… fine. Look closely, Asil. How I handle that arrogant fellow!”
And then, he charged straight at Edenber.
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