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“Do you think goats are some kind of sacred animal here?” Tafel whispered to Vur as the couple walked up to the counter. The guild was bustling, filled with people who were staring at Tafel and pointing at her horns. A few also pointed at Stella, who was standing on Vur’s head with her head swiveling about like an owl.
“A goat is a goat,” Vur said and rolled his eyes. “Nothing sacred about them. Maybe they raise them for milk here.”
The receptionist’s gaze turned even darker as he scribbled on the paper in front of him. He was in the middle of servicing an adventurer, recording her report.
“Hey,” a voice called out.
Tafel turned her head, but Vur was too busy reading the requests on the commission board to care. Tafel’s eyes narrowed at a scrawny, pale man with greasy blond hair. “Did you need something?” she asked. The eyes of everyone in the room turned towards her.
“What are you?” the man asked with a leer. His gaze felt like worms crawling on her skin. “That’s some weird-looking armor you got there. Very … formfitting.” A strange laugh escaped from his mouth as he licked his lips.
Tafel clenched her fist, but Vur stepped in front of her, blocking the man from her view. His eyes glowed golden, causing everyone in the room to stiffen as a surge of mana pressed down on them. The man’s face paled as the faint image of a dragon’s head formed from the mana enveloping Vur. “W-wait.”
A sharp pain on Vur’s head caused him to frown and look up. Stella had plucked a hair out. “Let me, let me,” she said and looked at him with puppy-like eyes. “Punish the bad man, right?”
Vur hummed as he rubbed his chin. The aura around his body died down as he nodded. “Okay.”
Stella cheered and flew into the air. She approached the trembling man and sneezed on his nose. His eyes widened. “Did she just sneeze on me?” the man asked.
Tafel’s brow furrowed as she recalled her first meeting with Rella. What kind of curse would a fairy queen cast? A minor inconvenience? A major inconvenience? A—. Her thoughts were cut off as the man screamed and collapsed onto the ground, his body twitching. His limbs flopped around, smacking himself as red welts appeared on his skin.
“Get them off me! Get them off me!”
The surrounding adventurers’ faces paled as the man clawed at his skin, scraping off layers and revealing flesh beneath. One white mage rushed forward and cast dispel, but nothing happened. Stella giggled as she flew back onto Vur’s head, creating a nest of sorts with his hair.
“What did you do to him?” Tafel asked. She didn’t like the man, but this punishment was a bit unusual and cruel.
“Curse of imaginary spiders,” Stella said with a smug expression.
Tafel paused. “Is this what you would’ve done to me if I didn’t give you the apple?”
Stella beamed at her. “Secret.”
Tafel’s expression darkened. It seemed like she shouldn’t refuse Stella’s demands for apples. How tyrannical. She saw a staff member of the guild approach from the corner of her eye, and she turned to face him. The staff member glanced at Vur and Stella and then Tafel’s horns before finally meeting her eyes. “Are you three new here? The guild master wishes to speak with you. It’s not every day we see a group like … yours.”
“Alright,” Tafel said. “Take us to him.”
“What about our companion?”
Tafel turned her head. The white mage standing over the squirming man was glaring at her. “Ask the fairy,” Tafel said and shrugged.
The mage’s gaze fell on Stella who blinked. “Ask him,” she said and pointed at Vur.
Vur tore his gaze away from the commission board. “Ask me what?”
“Can you undo the curse on our companion?” the white mage asked, lowering his head.
Vur blinked before tilting his head. He pointed at Tafel. “Ask her.”
The white mage’s face fell as Tafel rolled her eyes and followed the staff member up the stairs to the guild master’s room. Vur tore a commission off the board and stuffed it into his armor before following after them.
The guild master’s room was a small one on the highest floor of the building. Papers were stacked up on a desk, and all kinds of weapons were hanging on the walls while a few sets of armor stood in the corner. The guild master was a petite human woman with large glasses and braided hair who was wearing a pink blouse; anyone would mistake her for a librarian. Except Vur. The first thing he asked when he entered the room was, “Are you a dwarf too?”
The guild master’s brow furrowed. “There are two types of really strong people in the world: the hardworking and talented ones who meticulously worked their way up, and the ones that defy all common sense. I have a feeling you’re the latter.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Tafel said and sighed.
Vur tilted his head at the guild master. “Are you jealous?”
“A little,” the guild master said with a nod. “Have a seat.” She poured four cups of tea—one cup small enough for Stella—and cleared her desk by knocking all the papers on top over. She sat down and waited for Tafel and Vur to make themselves comfortable before speaking, “I’m the guild master representing the town of Anfang. I have many titles and many names, but you can call me Alice. I called you over because I sensed something and wanted to confirm if my suspicions were true.” She raised her head and stared Vur in the eyes. “Are you a representative of the dragons?”
“I am a dragon,” Vur said and snorted. “And I only represent myself.”
Alice’s eyes widened. “I’ve never met a dragon who was strong enough to assume a humanoid shape,” she said and lowered her head. “I apologize for any disrespect shown.”
Vur tilted his head. “All dragons look like this when they first start out,” he said. He ignored Tafel’s almost inaudible sigh.
Alice raised her head and blinked. “Pardon?”
“I’m not old enough to grow out my wings and scales completely yet,” Vur said and nodded. Stella nodded with him, sipping her tea.
Alice looked at Tafel with an expression that asked, ‘Is he serious or is he just stupid? Or is it both?’
Tafel kept a straight face. “He’s a dragon,” she said, copying Sera’s demeanor when Nova had interrogated her.
“I, I see?” Alice asked, furrowing her brow. “You’re speaking human words, though your accent is a bit strange, and I understand the meaning of each word, but when you put them together like that, I’m unable to grasp exactly what you’re trying to say.” She bit her lower lip. “Let me rephrase my question. Did the holy matriarch send you here or not?”
Vur scratched his head. Sera hadn’t sent him and Tafel here. And Tafel hadn’t been able to go where she wanted to. So it was Nova’s fault? Yeah. “No. It was the patriarch.”
“The patriarch?” Alice asked, blinking twice. “There’s a patriarch?”
“Yeah,” Vur said and nodded. “He can cast meteors and stuff.”
Tafel frowned at the guild master who seemed to be panicking. Should she correct the misunderstandings caused by Vur? If she did, did she have to correct every misunderstanding caused by Vur in the future too? She’d never have any time to do anything else if that was the case. In the end, she sipped on her tea and remained silent.
“So you’re saying…,” Alice said, saying each word slowly, “there’s another dragon out there who’s on the same level as the matriarch?”
“I think he’s stronger?” Vur asked, glancing at Stella. The fairy queen shrugged.
Alice chewed her lip as the crease in her forehead deepened. After a few moments of contemplating, she raised her head and sighed. “Sorry about that. You gave me a lot to think about,” she said. “What were you planning on doing when you came to the guild?”
“We wanted to register as adventurers,” Tafel said before Vur could speak.
“Alright,” Alice said. “I can help you with that.”