[Seryanna’s point of view]

 I flew straight towards Sagar, stopping for nothing on the way. Tanarotte was right behind me, and I was surprised to see that she was able to keep up with me. Within my arms I carried the sleeping Shelly, who was covered in a warm blanket. Her bleeding had stopped thanks to the potion she was given, but she was still in dire need of healer. My own healing spells were far too weak and far too dangerous to use when I did not know what her actual condition was.

As I carried her like this, a frightening thought crossed my mind: What if instead of Shelly it was my own child? What if at that time I would have no healers around me to help me take care of his or her wounds?

Just thinking about it sent a chill down my spine. While my armor and maybe Alkelios’ luck would protect us, this did not mean that we had to depend on it for all situations. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have had any need to think about learning to cast more powerful healing spells. I mostly relied on finding someone who could do it for me.

Back then, I was just a Knight among many. My power was average at best. My connections to those in power were not that great but not nonexistent either. If I had not met Alkelios, I would have been sharing a bed with Draejan right now and maybe carrying his egg. My duty as a Knight would have vanished at the time when we took our vows before Drakartus, and from a warrior I would have been turned into a housewife. Considering what I already knew of Draejan, I would have probably been a Matriarch in name only, while he would run everything from the shadows.

If Alkelios never appeared before us dragons or if by some unfortunate twist of fate, he would have died in that forest, then all of us would have not known the happiness and hope he offered us.

I for one would probably never have known what it meant to love and desire to be held in his arms. The Queen’s fate would have been sealed, the Kingdom would have slowly become a vassal state of the Embryger Empire. My grandfather would have met a painful death, and my little sister would have still continued to live as an outcast. Kataryna would have continued to live in loneliness, hidden in that cave of hers, and Princess Elleyzabelle would have been married off to some foreign noble in order to strengthen Albeyater Kingdom’s relationships.

Yet, the fact that Alkelios gave us the chance for a better life did not excuse us from continuing to strive to become better and perfect ourselves. For me, as well, this was a fact I may have unintentionally ignored up until now.

When Kataryna trained me, I never actually gave much thought about my own power, my influence in this world, my ability to change my own fate and that of those around me. My dream had always been to be a Knight and serve the Royal Family, but now, I couldn’t afford to limit myself to such a level.

If I had my own Knight Order trained as I wished, then maybe this kidnapping wouldn’t have taken place? Or maybe my knights would have noticed something I did not? I thought and then remembered the three dragons I had been training in my spare time.

I found the act of training my own troops to be rather enjoyable. It felt good to witness their progress.

Despite all of this... I didn’t even catch their names. I thought.

Letting out a sigh and looking down at Shelly, I raised a question to the dragoness who had been following me on my way to the capital.

“Tanarotte, do you think this kidnapping would have been prevented if there had been more troops to guard the palace?”

“Hm? Isn’t that a rather silly question? Of course, we would have had a better chance of preventing it! I mean one thing is to sneak within the Seyendraugher Palace in Drakaria and another is to sneak in the Ruvus Palace in Sagar.” she replied in a nonchalant tone of voice.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“I’m just wondering... that’s all.” I replied, but within my heart, there were two bleeding wounds that had just formed.

The truth spoken by this dragoness hurt, and I could not help but feel like I was to blame for poor Shelly’s kidnapping. If only I had more dragons to look out for the things I could not see. If only I had known how to properly heal others.

“Mew~ Mama... bad man... hurts...” Shelly called out in her sleep.

“It’s alright little one. No one is going to hurt you.” I replied and nuzzled her.

I was not her mother, but my comforting words seemed to have worked just as well.

In another half an hour we would have reached Sagar and then land right in front of the Palace. The guards rushed around us to see what the commotion was about, but when they saw little Shelly, their face turned to one of grief.

“Where’s your best healer?” I asked one of them.

“That would be Madam Leanna. We’ll take you to her.” he replied and then saluted.

“I’ll go inform his Majesty of your return.” another guard said.

“And I’ll go tell Mistress that we’re back!” said Tanarotte.

The guard guided me inside the palace and led me to a room located on the second floor to the right. The room was filled with all sorts of herbs and potions, books scattered everywhere, and a naked relliar woman sleeping on the floor curled up in a ball and muttering something about alcohol pancakes.

She was over twenty years old by my estimate, and her fur was white and shiny. Her hair was of a pale gold color, and her whiskers twitched cutely. Normally, seeing her like this, I would have wanted to jump on her and start petting her, but with Shelly in this state, I could not think of such things.

The guard who escorted me here let out a heavy sigh and then picked up a bucket of water that had been strategically placed next to the door.

“Give me a second, I’ll wake her up.” he said and then dumped the water on the poor naked relliar woman.

“NYAGYA!!!” she let out a weird scream and then jumped on the ceiling, using her claws to hold her weight up there.

Looking up at the soaked relliar who was breathing fast and looking around with big eyes, searching for danger, I could not help but notice the countless other claw marks up there.

Is this something common around here? I wondered.

“Professor Leanna, we need your help! Princess Eshantiel was brought back, and her condition doesn’t seem to be good!” the guard called out to her.

“Huh?” she blinked surprised and then locked eyes with me. “Eshantiel grew scales?” she tilted her head to the left but considering the fact that she was hanging upside down from the ceiling, it looked weird to me.

“Is this really alright?” I asked the guard.

“Don’t worry about her. She is just so focused on finding new remedies and experimenting with healing potions that she often forgets even to change her clothes after taking a bath. More than once she had greeted nobles and even his Majesty in this manner. Everyone already got used to this virgin woman who knows not the word ‘shame’.” he said with a sigh.

“What are you saying to people, nya?” she replied with her face flushed as she was trying to get down.

“Are you stuck again?” the guard asked.

“N-nooo?” she looked away.

“One moment.” the guard replied and then picked up what looked like a big wooden hook, which was strategically placed next to the bucket of water.

Using that tool, she peeled the naked professor off the ceiling.

The woman landed with a grace worthy of an acrobat, and I would have been impressed if she didn’t do it while naked.

“Is she really alright?” I asked the guard.

“Yes, she’ll fix up the Princess in a jiffy!” he replied and then walked outside.

“Nya~ This is so embarrassing.” Leanna said with a wry smile.

“Please leave aside this foolishness and have a look at the Princess.” I told her.

“Ah! Right away, nyanya!” she said.

“Is it really necessary for you to use ‘nya’ in your speech when not even this child does it?” I asked even though I thought it to be just a bit cute.

“Nya? Yes, nya! It makes me unique, nya!” she said.

“Doesn’t walking around naked make you plenty of special?” I asked as I handed the Princess over to her.

“Nya! Don’t say that! I’m not some cheap woman, you know? I just focus too much on things and sometimes forget unimportant stuff like clothes, food, or to breathe!” she replied.

“That last one is dangerous.” I remarked.

“Nya! No worries, that guard often comes to my rescue! He’s my childhood friend, nya!” she said proudly while sticking up her bare chest.

“Please put on some clothes.” I said.

“Why, nya? We’re all women here.” she said.

“His Majesty might arrive any moment now.” I told her.

“Ah, that would be a problem, nya. Last time he saw me like this, he got a nosebleed for some reason and then a black eye from his wife, nya.” she said tilting her head to the left.

Isn’t all of that because of you? Really now, is Shelly safe with this sort of scatterbrain looking out for her? I wondered.

After Leanna got dressed, she began to inspect the relliar Princess and then used a powerful healing spell on her. It was the type which I couldn’t even hope to cast any time too soon, but it was enough to cause all of the bruises and cuts on the child’s body to disappear. In just a few short moments, the young one was healed and was now resting with a white sheet covering her body.

“Nya, I can’t do anything about the fur, nya. It will grow back, in time, nya. But it’s awful what happened to her, nya. Four broken ribs, internal bleeding, cuts and bruises all over her body, mutilation, and even several infected wounds.” Leanna said and then shook her head “Whoever did this, I hope he died, nya.”

“He and all of his accomplices have been burnt to a cinder.” I replied with a growl.

“That’s good, nya! But leaving aside the obvious torture, I was worried that she might have been forced to take in the seed of a man, but it looks like you got there before they did anything of the sort.” said as she looked up at me.

“That’s good. A child of her age should not experience such things... I cannot even begin to understand why they would do something like this to her.” I said.

“Nya! What you say is true, but their minds don’t work like that. I have studied many cases of nobles and peasants who abuse those younger than them. If the relliars are anything like the humans, then all of this doesn’t happen because they are inherently evil but rather because certain events in their lives and the lack of proper guidance pushed them into believing that such acts are what define pleasure and power for them. For those sorts of people, abusing those weaker than them grants them the satisfaction of feeling empowered over another individual’s life. It’s complicated, nya, but all you should know is that the Princess is safe for now!” she showed me a bright smile and patted my shoulder.

Although I did not understand most of what she was trying to say, what I did understand was that these savages had not been born this way but rather they had been raised this way.

At that moment, his Majesty entered the room. The expression on his face and the ragged breathing told me that he ran all the way over here. As Shelly’s parent, he was no doubt quite worried about her.

“Lady Draketerus, my daughter...” he said.

“Over here. The good healer Leanna took care of her.” I said as I stepped aside.

“Eshantiel!” he called out and rushed to the little girl’s bedside.

She did not reply, she was still sleeping.

Not long afterwards, Princess Elleyzabelle arrived together with Kataryna.

“Good job, my Knight.” she said with a smile.

For the first time since I acquired the title, hearing these words felt heavy upon my heart. Once more, I remembered those stray thoughts of mine as I was flying over here from the Silvertooth Forest.

“Thank you, your Highness. Now, if you will excuse me, and with your permission, I wish to go to Donmar Port and destroy the vessels the humans arrived with. I have reason to believe they are meant to be used to carry relliar slaves in their holds back to the Akutan Empire.” I said in a formal tone of voice.

“Your Majesty, King Ruvus, what do you think?” Elleyzabelle asked after a moment of pause.

“She has my permission to hunt down those wretched humans by any means necessary!” he declared in a harsh tone of voice.

“As you wish.” I made a bow and then walked towards the exit.

“I’ll come with you, just to make sure that you don’t burn down the whole port.” Kataryna offered as she followed me.

“What about me, Mistress?” Tanarotte asked.

“You and the other knights remain here and guard Princess Elleyzabelle with your lives!” she ordered.

“Yes!” the dragoness replied joyfully.

Thus, together with Kataryna, I flew back towards the Silvertooh Forest. By the time the sun had set, and the two moons were up in the sky, we had reached the edge of the forest. We did not even stop to take a break or set up camp to rest, we continued to fly without rest.

In order to keep up with this continuous effort, I drank some healing potions. My wing muscles were a bit sore, but I did not intend to stop until I had reached the port. The relliar lives depended on me, and if word got out that the human encampment had been blown to smithereens, then it was highly likely that the ships would set sail to avoid further trouble.

“We’re almost there! How are you holding up?” Kataryna called out to me.

“I’m going to live! Don’t worry about it!” I replied.

From high above in the sky, the relliar port spread on a big patch of land, with quite a lot of lumber mills as well as half-built buildings that made me think they were slowly devouring the surrounding forest like some ancient monster.

The night watch was patrolling the town as usual, but they weren’t bothered to look up in the sky for flying threats. At this port, the worst they had to fear were the droppings of seagulls, not armored battle-ready dragonesses.

“There they are!” Kataryna pointed at three big black ships docked in the port.

They were galleons from the Akutan Empire, the black and red flag waved proudly in the wind. The anchors were dropped, and the sails were raised. Only a handful of men were on the deck, keeping watch for anything suspicious, yet, just like the relliar night watch, none of them was surveying the sky.

“How do you want to do this?” Kataryna asked.

“You go and talk with the Lord of this town and tell him about the King’s order. I’m going to go to the ships and see if there are any slaves on board.” I replied.

“If they are?”

“They will be set free. The humans will be sent to sleep with the fishes either way.” I replied as I kept my wings spread to glide towards the starboard of the galleon located to my left.

As I got close, one of the sailors saw me and for a moment, he did not believe his eyes. He opened his mouth to call for help, but I threw my sword at him. Drachenkrieg cut through the air and sliced his head in half. The human’s blood gushed out, making a mess on the deck.

I landed not far from the body and then retrieve my sword.

Without bothering to hide the body, I walked up to the door that led me to a level below. Three sailors stood in my way, three heads rolled on the floor after they were met by the blade of my sword.

I continued my way to the hold, where for a moment, I hoped I would see nothing but trade goods they planned to import to the Akutan Empire. What I saw, however, was nothing of the sort.

Aligned on both the right and the left of the hold, past the big crates that held the preserved food, the ale, and other supplies, I saw two layers of cages filled to the brim with relliar slaves. All of them were children between ages 10 and 16. The girls were separated from the boys, and all of them wore collars around their necks to symbolize the fact that they were nothing but slaves for the humans.

When they saw me, some of them perked their ears up and let out a sorrowful mewing. It broke my heart to see them like this, separated from their families and forced to a fate they did not wish for.

“By the order of his Majesty, King Kragarr Ruvus, and his allies of the Albeyater Kingdom, I am here to set you all free and have you returned to your families!” I called out to them.

“We’re saved!” one of them cried out.

“We’re going to be free!” another said.

“Sis! Did you hear that? We’re going back to mama and papa!” said a young boy as he called out to his sister located on the other side.

Their calls of joy continued, but I had no time to spare. The humans were alerted by now, so I had to move fast.

“Stand back from the doors!” I told them.

The children obeyed and stepped back.

With Drachenkrieg in my hand, I cut the doors at their hinges and then pulled them out. When a sailor came to see what was happening, I picked up one of the metal doors and tossed it at him. He didn’t dodge and died from the impact.

Taking the children out through the upper decks would have been too troublesome and slow, so I used my sword to cut open a hole in the hull of the ship, a meter or so above the water. Using the cut off portion, I created a makeshift bridge for them to get out safely.

Of course, there were several sailors who waited for me with their swords unsheathed, but I killed them by flying at them, grabbing their head with my arms and then crushing them like ripped tomatoes.

The children didn’t comment on the brutality I had displayed here, some were happy that I acted like this, and I didn’t want to think how these poor excuses for a living being dared to harm these young souls. Such vile individuals had no place among the living.

After the children fled the ship, the commotion had already reached a level where the relliar guards made their appearance, however, the first words that came out of their mouths weren’t those I had expected.

“What are you all doing outside of your cages?”

The humans managed to find kindred vile souls among the guards.

“Your King ordered me to KILL all those who are accomplices to the relliar trafficking.” I declared and then rushed at him.

I punched him in the chest with half of my strength. His body was sent flying back into a nearby building. The relliar guard died instantly.

When I turned my gaze towards the other guard, he let out a frightened sound, but in the next moment, he was coughing up blood. Drachenkrieg’s blade had pierced his chest and then its flames burst forward, eating him from inside out.

After I pulled my sword out of his dead body, I walked up to the next ship. Meanwhile, the children gathered in a huddle as far away from the dangerous action as possible.

Inside the second galleon, I found the adults, they were of ages between 18 and 34, mostly women. The men present here looked strong and healthy. When they saw me, they reacted with fear and worry, but once I told them that I was here on behalf of their King, they immediately turned grief to joy.

I led them out in the same manner, by cutting a hole in the hull of the ship and using that cutout piece as a makeshift bridge for them. Once they were all out, they reunited with the children. It appeared as though entire families had been kidnapped and brought all the way over here. Maybe the slavers believed that taking the parents along would help them deal with the children better. By placing them on board of two different ships, they also made sure that neither side would retaliate out of fear of what might happen to those who were not within their reach to protect.

That last galleon, fortunately, did not have any slaves in its hold, but it did carry a lot of trade goods like preserved food, spices, jewels, and pottery. There were a few crates filled to the brim with swords as well. For a moment, one would dare think that this could be an ordinary merchant ship, but the flag it had raised was definitely not one that belonged to the Guild of Merchants. This ship was part of the same group as the other two.

With the slaves out of the way and the sailors beginning to gather to fight me off, everything was set for the grand finale. I got up on the deck and greeted the one who I guessed was the captain of this ship and also the leader of this convoy.

“What reason do you have to interfere in the Akutan Empire’s matters?!” he called out to me in rage.

Instead of using the human language, he was using the relliar one. Maybe he thought I wouldn’t be able to understand him otherwise?

“When you kidnapped the fluffy relliars, you made it my business!” I declared as I pointed Drachenkrieg at him.

The furious flames licked the blade and spread out like a hungry monster.

“That ain’t no normal sword!” one of the sailors pointed out the obvious, while others didn’t even bother to use a language known to me.

“Do you want to make an enemy of the Akutan Empire?!” the captain tried to hide behind the name of his country.

“I already am, human. Can’t you see that I am a dragoness?” I asked him.

“That I see. But this is neither Akutan nor a dragon kingdom. Why are you here? I demand answers!” he raised the tone of his voice.

I showed him a smile and then charged my Magic Energy, preparing myself for battle.

“You dared to harm someone precious to me. You dared to go against this Kingdom’s laws and make its subjects slaves to sale on your markets. Need I say more?” I asked.

“Foolishness! We are part of the Akutan Empire! This Sarakus Kingdom will soon be ours, so what if we took a few plebeians as slaves? I did them a good by rounding up their waste and giving it purpose!” he declared almost as if he was proud of his mission of enslaving other people.

“Do all of you think the same?” I asked.

My question made several of them look at their peers and then took a step back. It was a wise choice for them. If they didn’t attack, then I would spare them and leave them to the relliars to judge them as they pleased.

“What’s this? Are you traitors?!” the captain asked enraged.

“Captain, we’ve served under you on this journey, and we did our jobs as told, but slavery was never something we wished to be a part of.” one of them declared.

“Then get off my ship this instant and don’t you dare return to the Akutan Empire!” the captain ordered them.

The men looked at me once and then at their captain. With one last chance to change their mind, they steadied their resolve and dropped their swords. Seven of them disembarked, while the sailors of the other ships were gathering on the docks, prepared to offer help to those on the deck.

“I guess not all of you will die today. A pity.” I said as I closed my eyes and remembered once more the way I found Shelly under that church in the middle of the forest.

Such a gentle soul like hers should have never been harmed in such a way and knowing this filled me with rage. A strong fire burned inside me, and its flames were released through my Magic Energy.

“Kill her!” the captain ordered.

Five of them rushed towards me, swords drawn, and body reinforcement magic activated.

They showed no hesitation in the swing of their swords or the gaze in their eyes. They aimed for my vitals and tried to take me down immediately. Yet, no matter how strong and fast they were, they couldn’t compare to me. Even if I let them hit me, they wouldn’t be able to scratch my armor.

They drew their swords at me. They aimed for my life. Thus, there was no need to for me to hesitate to take theirs. Actually, I was glad they chose this path. It gave me a very legitimate reason to kill each and every one of them as I pleased.

The first sailor to come at me, I dodged his sword and cut off his hands, then I grabbed him by the face and then smashed him in the floor, crushing his skull. The second one was cut at the waist by Drachenkrieg. The fourth one was slapped across the face by my tail, then impaled with my sword. I lifted him up and then ripped him in half, so I could inflict the feeling of terror on my enemies.

A part of them stepped back, but I took this moment of hesitation to my advantage and unleashed a breath of fire upon them. While they screamed in pain and jumped overboard in the water, I flew up into the sky and charged up a powerful [Fireball]. The spell was basic, but in my hands, it was nothing to joke about.

When the ball of fire touched one of the ships, it exploded and sent a sea of flames to wash over its deck. I then used a [Wind Scythe] to cut that ship in half, sentencing it to sink to the bottom of the sea.

Upon this display of power, the captain was at a loss of words.

But I wasn’t done yet.

I flew towards the second ship and then punched it in the stern with all of my strength. The enchanted wood creaked and then shattered, sending splinters everywhere. With a hole opened for me, I took a deep breath in and then released my fire upon it.

Right now, changing to my half-beast form would have been too much for this port.

As the flames swept across all decks, I began to fly around it, cutting the whole ship to pieces with my sword. It did not take long before the whole thing began to sink to the bottom of the bay.

Now, there was only one ship left, the one the captain was on. Although, I found it rather odd that the other captains and first officers were not around here, so I asked him.

“Where are the other captains?”

“Huh? With bishop Marconium Bassar.” he replied while still in a state of shock of what he had just witnessed.

“Then they are dead.”  I said with a smile.

I was happy. None of them would get away, thus, I poured my Magic Energy into my sword and then released a torrent of fire spells upon them.

Fireballs, fire scythes, fire tornadoes, fire arrows, fire snakes, dancing flames, and searching fire ate the crew and the entire ship, but I could still feel like the rage within my heart had not settled, so while they were all burning to death, I killed off all the scattered remains except for those who had laid down their swords.

When I caught the fleeing soldiers, I ripped them to pieces with my bare hands and then I tossed their remains back into the flames. The scent of burnt human flesh spread across the entire dock.

Half an hour later, there was not even a single one of them standing, and all three ships had sunk to the bottom of the sea. I stood there among the flames, watching as the last one of these disgusting fellows perished.

“Is it over?” Kataryna asked as she landed outside of the flaming inferno.

“Yes.” I replied.

If not for my affinity to fire and my well controlled Magic Energy, I would have burnt and suffocated as well.

“Are you going to put out this fire, or should I?” she asked.

I lifted my hand up and touched the gentle flames. They were loyal to me, obedient, yet they were also a power that was hungry for destruction. My affinity with this element had its own faults. It was at times unstable while also quite easy to lose control over, but the worst part was that it whispered me to set it free and unleash its wrath upon the world.

It was such an easy-to-understand desire and if I obeyed, I would feel calm, relaxed, at peace even.

“Yes.” I replied to Kataryna as I kept that desire in check and put off all the fires around me.

It was like they simply ran out of fuel.

“Then we should return to the capital. I’ve taken the liberty to speak with the Lord of this region and he agreed to take care of the relliars until an official from the capital arrived. I made sure he understood that his Majesty wouldn’t be so kind if he came to hear that these poor folks were treated badly by him until their situation was resolved.” she explained with a smirk.

She probably threatened him... I thought, but I let it go.

This matter was finally done with. The human delegates had been punished and Shelly avenged.

“Let’s go back.” I said with a smile.

We spread our wings and took flight. Our journey back would be a relaxed one. None of us would be in a hurry, and during our camping time, we would get plenty of rest before departing again. It would take us around two days to reach the capital.

When we got back, we received the good news that the negotiations with King Kragarr Ruvus had been successful and that a trading treaty had been officially signed. Not only that, but we also signed a contract of mutual military assistance. If either kingdom would be under attack by a foreign nation, the other would do its best to both accept refugees and send forces to help out.

This was indeed a joyous moment, and the King held a great feast in our honor.

At that time, I finally got to see Shelly again. She was bundled up in clothes that hid her shaved appearance. For relliars, their fur was like the scales of a dragon, a part of their identity and natural beauty. I could not imagine what she must have felt when she was shaved by that monster.

When she entered the room, everyone was quiet and were looking at her.

“Mewhello~” she said with a shy look in her eyes and carefully approached us.

She used a long purple velvet scarf to cover her neck and head. Her tail was also hidden behind her clothes.

I got up from my seat and approached her.

She looked up at me for a moment and then lowered her head.

“I’m sowy...” she said and then started to sniffle.

“Why?” I asked as I knelt before her and gently placed my hand on top of her head.

Her little ears twitched under the cloth.

“I lost my fur... I’m not fwuffy anymore... and... and that man... he said mean things about you. For a moment... mew... I-I believed him. I’m sowy!” she said, and tears trickled down her cheeks.

“Is that why you asked the guards not to let me inside your room?” I asked her.

As soon as I returned, I rushed to see this little kitten, but she refused to see me. Because it was her will, I did not try to pursue the matter anymore. I thought that maybe she got frightened after she heard what I did to the humans.

“Yes...” she nodded.

“It’s not because I took revenge for what happened to you?” I asked.

“No!” she shook her head fast and because of that, the scarf was pulled aside, revealing her bald head.

When she realized what she had done, she looked back at me in shock. She was trembling and there were tears in her eyes. No doubt she thought that I was going to abandon her because she had lost her fur. That was a foolish thought.

With a smile on my lips, I embraced the frightened child and gently nuzzled her like I did before.

“Shelly, no matter what, you are still an adorable fluffy relliar princess whom I cherish very much and if anyone dares to say otherwise, they will be burnt to a crisp!” I told her.

“Y-You’ll be my fwend even if I’m not fwuffy?” she asked as her tears dripped down her cheeks.

“Of course.” I nodded and then placed a kiss on her forehead.

The relliar stopped trembling, but she continued to cry as I held her in my arms. Those who witnessed this scene remained quiet and allowed this moment of healing to take place.

After the party, everything seemed to have returned to normal. I continued to play with Shelly, who for the most part didn’t show to have any remaining psychological scars, but my instinct told me this wasn’t true. She also stopped hiding her shaved fur around others and just calmly waited for it to grow back.

On the day of our departure, we offered our farewells to the King of the Sarakus Kingdom, his Queen, and all those we had met there. Princess Elleyzabelle had to extend her farewells to multiple relliars whom had helped her with the negotiations in various ways.

Although when we first arrived at the capital most of them were against our presence here and didn’t even think about supporting the treaties, right now that didn’t seem to be the case anymore.

For me, the most difficult farewell I had to offer was with little Shelly. She didn’t want me to go, and I understood why. Over these past several days, she had gotten terribly attached to me. I was her friend and also her savior, and no one blamed her for thinking like that. Yet, in the future, given her delicate political position this relationship could be seen as both something good and bad. I wasn’t a fool not to understand something like this.

“Don’t go...” she told me with begging eyes.

I looked into her eyes and then patted her head.

“Although I will be quite far away from you, I will still be your friend. If Albeyater and Sarakus continue with this friendly relationship, then in time, you will see me again. Maybe when you are older, you will come visit me. I hope that then you will also get to meet my husband, Alkelios.” I told her with a smile.

“B-But I don’ wan’ you to go...” she sniffled “What if the bad man comes again and hwurts me?” she asked.

Hearing this, the little one confirmed one of the things that I had feared. Despite her strong front, she didn’t just get over what happened to her. It was impossible and highly unlikely. Nonetheless, if she continued to be dependent of me like this, then she would stump her own growth.

I looked into her eyes, and I knew that what I was about to say was not going to come as easy. These words could even make the fluffy one hate me.

Before I did so, I knelt before her and placed both hands on her shoulders, so that she would not turn away when I spoke with her.

“Shelly, when we came to Sarakus, we came looking for the Baby Tooth of a Relliar Royalty. It is something that Albeyater is desperately searching for, yet we leave with empty hands and hope that through some miracle and good will, your father, the King, will be able to acquire one for us.” I said and then let out a sigh. “Shelly, my mission here is over, and I must move on. I know and understand that what you have been through was terrible. I was the one who rescued you, after all, and I know it’s not easy to accept or move past that. The bad man might still haunt your dreams and cause you to fear others, but that will only be so if you let him do it. Neither I nor anyone else here has that sort of power.”

“But what if I can’t do it?” she asked.

“Of course, you can. All of us did in one way or another. All of us had that sort of a bad man we were afraid of at one point, someone who was haunting our dreams and causing us to look away in fear, but all of us fought back and won. That’s why you can do it. When he appears next time in your dreams, don’t look away from him, don’t run away, don’t scream for help. Fight him! Shout at him and use every single drop of your will to make him bend down to you, to make him shake in fear of you, to make him go away. I can’t do that for you, only you can. Remember these words of mine, Shelly, remember them well.” I told her and then gently squeezed her shoulders.

She didn’t say anything, she only looked into my eyes.

“Shelly, I know that in the eyes of all those around me right now what I am about to say is something terrible but listen well for it will give you the strength you need in the future.”

She nodded.

“Out there, in the real world, you will find a lot more bad men, maybe some even worse than the one I had killed.”

She started trembling, but I held her tight and forced her to look into my eyes.

“But the power they hold over you is something that you will offer to them by being afraid of them. Fear is not something to hide, to fight against, or to ignore. Fear is something that you must understand. If you fear the bad man, ask yourself why you fear him. What is the cause of that fear? Shame? Pain? Insults? Find the reason of the fear, then see if it is really worth to let it exist inside your heart. Look at each and every bad man you will encounter right in the eyes and then ask yourself if you really are afraid of him or if HE wants you to be afraid of him? If it is the latter, then never give him the satisfaction. You are still young, right now, Shelly, but you have a lot to grow and a lot to learn. You can live a life in which you protect yourself from bad men or you can live a life in which their influence over you means nothing. You can live a life in which you hold a strong fire within your heart, and every time they try to put it out, you cut them down with your sword.” I stopped and took a deep breath in.

“Dwon’t fight fwear... dwon’t hide it... dwon’t ignore it...” she repeated.

“Yes, understand it and then conquer it. If you learn to do that, then there won’t be any more bad men out there, just fools who try to stand in your way. Light the fire in your heart and never let it be put out!” I told her as I gently squeezed her shoulders.

“Mn!” she nodded and showed me a smile.

“Good girl!” I said and patted her head, making her twitch her ears and wave her tail.

“Um, you said you needed a baby tooth?” she asked.

“Yes.” I nodded.

“Would mine work?” she asked as she pointed at her open mouth.

“Yes, I think it would, but didn’t you already lose all of your baby teeth?” I asked tilting my head to the left.

“Mn!” she shook her head left and right. “Wait here!” she said and then ran back to her room.

We waited for her calmly. No one commented on the words I threw at Shelly, and she herself didn’t seem to have taken it badly.

Maybe I am good at this parenting thing? I thought.

When she returned, she had a small decorated jewelry box in her hands.

“Here!” she said and then handed it to me.

I picked up the box and opened it to look inside.

“This... Is this your baby tooth?” I asked surprised and then I showed it to Elleyzabelle.

“Mn!” she nodded happily.

“I think it’s the real thing.” Elleyzabelle said.

“We never had a custom of keeping our baby teeth, but I guess... in light of recent events, maybe we should start a new tradition?” King Kragarr wondered as he rubbed his chin.

“It might prove interesting, indeed.” Elleyzabelle replied with a nod as she packed the tooth within her [Purse] ring.

“Why did you keep it?” Drameer Ruvus asked.

“Mmm? Because mama once said that it bwing good luck?” she replied.

“Good luck? Did say that?” Drameer tilted her head in confusion.

“Maybe this is Alkelios’ luck at play?” wondered Elleyzabelle as she looked at me.

“No, I don’t think so. His luck wouldn’t have had an effect on an event that already took place in the past. I think that maybe... this our own luck?” I replied as I looked back at her.

“Maybe.” she showed me a smile.

Looking back at Shelly, I gave her one last hug and then told her “Grow strong so no bad men will dare touch you again.”

“Mn!” she nodded with a smile and wiped her tears off.

We departed on good terms and made our way toward Nirvill Port where we would board our ship.

This was what happened on the Relliar Continent. I made a new friend, and we successfully completed our mission. A year later, I would begin to receive letters from Shelly almost every month. It was her mother Drameer’s idea.