When I returned, I found my dragon sitting on a chair, wearing a different dress. This time, it was an intriguing mixture of blue and white. Surprisingly, it had a large slit going through the side, revealing most of her beautiful legs, while the dress itself wrapped tightly around her body to display her curves excellently.

The view was too beautiful not to be deliberate.

"Was everything in order with the wards?" she asked, unable to hide her nervousness as she looked at me.

"No problem at all," I answered with a shrug, not feeling the need to go deeper into the details. With our enemies solidly on the fake tracks I had created, there was no need to sour the delicious atmosphere I managed to develop.

I didn't say anything as I walked to another seat, leaning back and closing my eyes rather than interacting with her, despite the clear invitation her dress represented.

Sometimes, you needed to pull back to make sure the hunt went without a hitch.

And she clearly didn't appreciate the silence, if the frustrated hitch in her tone was any indicator. "What's the plan? Are we going to just stay here and hide?"

"Exactly. It's clear that they are not here permanently, and the wards they put are not the type you can maintain for weeks and weeks without having side effects," I said. "If they wanted to stay, they would have used something more selective."

"Are you sure?" she questioned. "Those crazy abominations can't be really predicted by logic, they do things senselessly, like the raid that forced me into this horrible world."

I opened my eyes, pinning her under my gaze. "Either we go out and kill all of them, or we wait. I don't know you, but the first option isn't really attractive for me, but feel free to go for a hunt if you want."

Her silence was enough as an answer. Of course, I could have shared the little discussion I overheard, but for the moment, keeping her in the dark was the safer option.

Especially since a small faction in Eternals was deliberately hunting her, which made me question whether her presence was accidental in the first place. Maybe the raid wasn't just a coincidence, but an intentional ploy to drive her here.

That faction was determined to kill her. All that needed to be answered was how much.

"It's a defeatist attitude," she said.

"If it is, it is," I said with a shrug, not reacting to her juvenile taunt. I was too experienced to fall to her transparent attempt to goad me into explaining the situation in a more detailed fashion. Interrogation, especially the subtle, unofficial kind that was going between us, was a game of calm minds and false fronts, where the cooler heads ultimately prevailed.

Nothing she had done gave me the impression that she had the nerves to handle a subtle dance like that.

After I shrugged off her taunt, she fell silent, unable to say anything. The silence stretched for minutes as I leaned back once more, enjoying the opportunity to rest. I didn't have the luxury of sleeping, of course, and it wasn't just about missing the opportunity to seduce my unexpected guest.

I simply didn't have the luxury of stopping to observe the detection wards, in case they stumbled upon the correct route after their repeated failures.

"What if they don't go away in a few days?" she decided to speak after a few minutes, disturbing my rest. "Are we going to stay cooped inside?"

"We can think that when that happens," I answered, this time not even bothering to open my eyes even as I heard her standing up, walking toward me.

"Maybe you should continue transferring mana," she suggested. "There's more chance of us getting away if I get stronger."

"You need to wait a few hours for my fingers to recover," I said, deliberately not mentioning the alternative I had suggested earlier. I expected her to argue, but hearing her footsteps getting closer surprised me. For a moment, I expected her to sit on my lap as I suggested.

Unfortunately, after a hesitant stagger, she turned and walked back, showing that while the prospect of more mana was tempting, it wasn't tempting enough to push her to make such a radical move. At least, not since she had the opportunity to cool down after the massage in the pool.

Fucking bastards, I thought. If it wasn't for their sudden presence, ruining the mood, she might have already decided to try the suggestion. Instead, she sat on the opposite side of the room, waiting for me to act.

Her silence didn't last long. "So, what are your combat capabilities?" she asked, barely five minutes later. I wondered whether it was a draconic trait, or it was more about her personality.

"Nothing too spectacular," I answered. "A little elemental, a little knife fighting. I'm mostly a warding expert," I said, underselling my abilities slightly. No need to reveal the full extent of my abilities, not when there was still a chance of her aligning herself with the headmistress tightly.

I had no idea about their relationship, and at this point, I didn't have the luxury of betting on it.

"You're not a combat mage?" she asked, but I could sense the way her tone flickered, her gaze turning dismissive. I barely held back myself from shaking my head dismissively. She was clearly one of those people — well, dragon — that dismissed anyone that didn't focus on front-line combat, even when my extraordinary abilities had saved her life twice.

"No," I said. "By the way, you didn't even tell your name yet."

"You're right, I didn't," she said, her smugness clear, like she had achieved a big victory. I might have assumed it was a great insult to ask a dragon her name, but the pedestrian nature of her smugness suggested that it was a childish snub rather than a big cultural taboo.

I had no intention of arguing about it with her, of course. Being underrated and dismissed was always a useful trait. Instead, I continued to release some mana, though much less than the earlier treatment in the bath.

[-53 Mana]

It was just enough to maintain the mana density of the room even as she devoured it consistently, using the lingering connection between me and the floating particles of mana to get an even better understanding of the transformation that was going on in her body. It was a slow-going process from a distance, but as the time passed, I was slowly getting convinced that whatever was going on was either instinctual, or practiced enough to turn something habitual to the level of breathing. She only needed to pay attention when she was dealing with an excessive mana flow, like my ear

Of course, her transformation wasn't the only thing that was occupying my attention. No, most of my attention was on observing the Eternals that were doing their best to handle the maze I had created, their spells getting stronger and stronger with each passing hour, suggesting increasing desperation.

Too bad for them that the more forceful they were being, the easier it got for them to get lost in the labyrinths I had created for that exact purpose, their mana blanketing the background, making it even harder to notice the subtle traps I had established.

None of those traps were offensive in nature, of course. Killing them didn't work for my interest, not when it would give them and the mysterious elder behind them an excuse to stick around and search for it, maybe even bring more power from the mysterious organization after losing a few of their members.

Since they didn't know why they were tasked to kill the dragon in the first place, it didn't even make sense to take the risk of capturing one and interrogating them. As much as I would appreciate the chance of getting more information about the Eternals, I was trapped in the limits of two overwhelming wards they had established.

Not exactly the time to be adventurous.

Instead, I lazed around, saying nothing. My guest looked at me questioningly several times, clearly expecting me to push for more so that she could shut me off, but I decided not to give her the pleasure, even when she implied she might be willing to receive another massage.

Then, the wards disappeared, as sudden as they appeared. "Finally," she as she stood up, already starting to transform as a pair of wings shoot off her back.

"Wait," I said, and, to her credit, she did so, though her wings stayed on her back, suggesting she was capable of transforming halfway, which had some interesting implications for fun times. I took note of it for the future.

"What!" she said angrily.

"We need to wait for a few hours, to make sure they are gone," I said, not revealing to her that I could still feel two people still digging around the fake tunnels I had created.

"I'm not a coward," she said.

"Be my guest if you want to get caught for the third time," I said with a dismissive gesture, knowing it would sting her pride. She growled in anger, suggesting that if I dared to say those words in a time where the memories of her imprisonment weren't fresh in her mind, she might have reacted much more explosively than her current mood.

She said nothing, but she sat back, which was all I needed as an answer. I sat down as well, even as I flared my magic, ordering two fake dragons I had created in quick succession, drawing our potential attackers away. I didn't inform her of that particular fact, of course, as the sight of her pouting face was too entertaining to miss, especially when it contrasted with her beautiful, revealing dress…

—

[Level: 31 Experience: 493210 / 496000

Strength: 46 Charisma: 63

Precision: 40 Perception: 42

Agility: 40 Manipulation: 45

Speed: 39 Intelligence: 49

Endurance: 39 Wisdom: 51

HP: 6226 / 6324 Mana: 7750 / 7750 ]

SKILLS

Master Melee [100/100]

Master Tantric [100/100]

Master Biomancy [100/100]

Master Elemental [100/100]

Master Arcana [100/100]

Master Subterfuge [100/100]

Expert Speech [75/75]

Expert Craft [75/75]

PERKS

Mana Regeneration

Skill Share

Empowerment (1/1)

Teleportation

COMPANIONS

[Cornelia - Level 22/26]

[Helga - Level 22/26]