Chapter 71

Ariel found the young Lizardmen quite cute.

Their appearance, a mix of lizard and human, reminded her of little dinosaurs.

The young Lizardmen, resembling small dinosaurs, gathered around Ariel and eagerly ate cake.

She wondered if Lizardmen actually liked sweet cake, but seeing them devour it so quickly, it seemed to suit their taste.

What Ariel didn’t know was that Lizardmen naturally had a sweet tooth. Their staple food was sweet fruit.

*Munch munch.*

The young Lizardmen were completely absorbed in eating the cake. They didn’t even notice when Ariel poked their noses with her finger.

After a while, the young Lizardmen, having finished the cake, looked up at Ariel with sparkling eyes.

They clearly wanted more.

Ariel wiped the cake cream off one Lizardman’s mouth and stood up.

There was still plenty of cake left in her inventory, but giving them more might upset their stomachs. No matter how delicious, overeating could cause trouble.

Besides, they were on their way to the palace. She couldn’t spend all her time with the young Lizardmen here.

“See you next time.”

With those words, Ariel turned around and followed the guiding soldier back to the palace.

*

At the entrance of the Lizardman Palace stood a massive statue.

Its size and golden color naturally reminded Ariel of Rakia.

“……”

As Ariel stopped and stared at the dragon statue, the guiding soldier approached and said,

“We Lizardmen worship dragons. That’s why we have statues like this all over the kingdom. Don’t Elves also worship the World Tree?”

Ariel nodded half-heartedly. She vaguely remembered such a setting, but she didn’t truly worship anything.

“The statue looks so real.”

Ariel murmured. It looked exactly like Rakia when she transformed into a dragon.

Well, maybe a bit younger than this statue. But it was quite similar.

“It’s the work of a Dwarf,” the Lizardman soldier said.

“This statue was carved to resemble Elysion. It’s almost identical to the real thing.”

“Elysion?”

“Elysion is the guardian dragon who protects our Lizardman Kingdom. She resides in the Crin Frost Mountain Range to the north. In the past, she drove away the demons who invaded our kingdom. If it weren’t for Elysion, we would have been destroyed by the demons.”

Ariel nodded slightly at the soldier’s words.

Then, Roo whispered in Ariel’s ear,

“Sis, doesn’t this statue look like Rakia? My strong intuition tells me that Elysion might be Rakia’s mother. Hmm, I’m almost certain. Remember how I predicted that Sion, the vagrant kid, would become the hero? This is the same kind of strong intuition.”

“……”

Ariel narrowed her eyes.

Roo’s words made sense.

Though she had never met Rakia’s mother, if she were to imagine her, she’d probably look like this statue.

“Sis, if Elysion is Rakia’s mother, then Rakia is probably at the Crin Frost Mountain Range to the north. She went to see her mother, after all. But since she hasn’t returned yet, something might have happened. Should we go check it out?”

Roo felt that she had changed a lot.

In the past, she wouldn’t have dared to suggest visiting a Dragon’s Lair.

Unless you were a dragon, no one visited a Dragon’s Lair.

Even the Lizardman King couldn’t just waltz into a Dragon’s Lair.

Doing so might provoke the dragon’s wrath.

But Roo was asking Ariel as casually as if they were visiting a friend’s house.

This was undoubtedly a change brought about by traveling with Ariel.

Roo trusted Ariel. With Ariel by her side, even a Dragon’s Lair would be safe.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Ariel agreed.

Just as Roo wanted to see Rakia, Ariel also missed her.

She wanted to quickly dress Rakia in a bunny suit, hug her, and sleep together.

But since they were already in the Lizardman Kingdom, she planned to take her time exploring.

After all, Rakia was a dragon.

Dragons were the strongest beings on the continent.

Even if something happened to Rakia, it wouldn’t be life-threatening. There were hardly any beings on the continent that could endanger a dragon’s life.

There was no need to rush. They had plenty of time to explore the Lizardman Kingdom.

Ariel followed the soldier and soon entered the palace.

“From here, I’ll take the prince.”

At the soldier’s words, Ariel set Draco down on the ground.

Draco had been floating in the air using telekinesis the whole time, and it seemed quite comfortable for him as he was still asleep.

In fact, he was even snoring slightly, clearly in a deep sleep.

The guiding soldier carried Draco away, and soon another soldier approached and bowed respectfully.

“I’ll take you to the Audience Chamber. The King is waiting.”

And so, Ariel’s group was led to the King’s Audience Chamber.

*

“Hmm.”

The Lizardman King, Rugerico, quietly observed Ariel’s group as they entered the Audience Chamber.

A young silver-haired Elf, a Silver Wolf, a Black Wolf, and a Fairy.

It was quite an unusual combination.

‘Impressive.’

Rugerico felt slightly tense upon seeing Ghost and Black. Their size was considerable.

Though they were behaving now, if they caused trouble, it would be quite troublesome.

Subduing them would require significant effort.

Rugerico spoke,

“First, I’d like to express my gratitude. Thank you for safely bringing my son, Draco, here.”

Ariel’s group showed no particular reaction to the King’s words.

Ariel was busy looking around, Roo gave a slight nod, and Ghost and Black were licking each other.

“Hmm, but could you explain why Draco lost consciousness? That’s quite important.”

“Ah, about that, he suddenly collapsed on his own,” Roo answered.

“I even sprinkled Healing Powder, but he didn’t wake up. Is the prince… I mean, is His Highness suffering from some illness?”

Rugerico shook his head.

“No illness. Just yesterday, Draco was in perfect health… Do you have any idea why he suddenly collapsed?”

“I didn’t see it myself, but according to our sis, he just suddenly collapsed. He had a high fever too. Maybe he caught a cold or something?”

“That much… Well, we’ll know once we treat him. Still, thank you. If it weren’t for you, Draco might have been in danger.”

Rugerico looked at Ariel again.

By now, Ariel had stopped looking around and was facing Rugerico.

Her gaze was confident, without a hint of fear.

‘Can I trust her?’

Rugerico pondered.

Honestly, it was hard to believe what the Fairy had said. Fairies were known for lying.

But what about the Elf?

Elves were known to be honest to a fault.

Moreover, Rugerico had already received reports.

On their way to the palace, Ariel had handed out cake to Lizardman children.

Most other races looked at Lizardmen with disgust, but this Elf showed kindness.

That had put Rugerico in a good mood.

‘I’ll trust her.’

Rugerico made up his mind.

Until Draco woke up, he would treat this Elf and her group as honored guests.

“First, I’ll provide you with a guest room. Feel free to stay in our palace as long as you like. I’ll also assign a maid to you. If you need anything, just ask. We’ll accommodate most requests. After all, you saved Draco.”

Ariel bowed her head at Rugerico’s words.

“Thank you.”

Her voice was calm, though her youthful appearance stood out.

As Ariel bowed, Roo quickly followed suit, and the wolves behind them also lowered their heads.

Seeing this, Rugerico could tell how much the Fairy and wolves respected this Elf.

“Then I’ll guide you to the guest room. Please follow me.”

Soon, a soldier led Ariel’s group out of the Audience Chamber, and Rugerico smiled quietly.

It was the first time a foreign race had been allowed into the Lizardman Kingdom, but it didn’t feel bad.

‘Perhaps I should allow more visits from other races in the future…’

Rugerico sank into his throne, deep in thought.

Most other races despised Lizardmen, but not all.

There were Elves like Ariel who showed kindness to Lizardmen.

It wouldn’t be bad to befriend such Elves.

Not long after Rugerico had this thought,

“S-Something terrible has happened…!”

A soldier rushed in, shouting.

“That Elf… she’s swimming in Monarch Lake right now…!”

“What? In Monarch Lake?!”

“Y-Yes! We were going to pull her out, but you said to treat her as an honored guest for saving Prince Draco…!”

“I must go at once.”

Rugerico sprang to his feet.

Monarch Lake was the most sacred and forbidden place in the palace.

Only the King was allowed to enter its waters. No one else dared to approach it.

It was a symbol of the King’s authority.

And now, a foreigner was swimming in it…

Rugerico hurriedly made his way to Monarch Lake.

“……?”

A bewildered expression appeared on Rugerico’s face.

The usually calm Monarch Lake was now churning with violent waves.

*Swoosh!*