The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 225

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 225

 

The relieved people calmed the children and returned to the cave, chatting amongst themselves.

 

At the same time, reverent gazes fell upon Rita and the small black dragon clinging to her back. They bowed silently or bent deeply at the waist in greeting, being careful with their conduct.

 

Jurlene and Elision’s attitudes also changed slightly. Jurlene’s eyes sparkled with undisguised admiration and curiosity, while Elision became more cautious and respectful.

 

“Thank you for calming the Black Dragon, Dragon Knight.”

 

The silver-haired prince bowed his head respectfully and approached her.

 

“You must be tired, let’s go back so you can rest. I’ll support you again.”

 

The black-haired witch added with a flushed face.

 

“Hey, I almost got in big trouble earlier, right? Thanks for stopping the Black Dragon’s punishment!”

 

Both seemed to have much they wanted to say to her, but given the late hour and Rita’s appearance still wrapped in bandages, they seemed to hold back for now.

 

Watching these scenes, Rita felt inwardly relieved.

 

It seemed she had made a good first impression as the mythical Black Dragon.

 

Moreover.

 

‘…Jurlene’s unusual reaction when she was corrupted. I need to investigate that.’

 

A faint glimmer of hope for returning Gid to normal seemed to be appearing.

 

* * *

 

Rita, who had returned to the second floor of the village hall with Sion’s help, collapsed onto the bed.

 

Though she didn’t show it, she had overexerted herself while running a fever, so she was truly exhausted to death. The aftereffects of divine power treatment seemed to still remain.

 

‘I need to sleep… First, I have to recover my strength. There’s a mountain of things to do.’

 

However, this time, before falling asleep, she tightly embraced the miniaturized black dragon to prevent him from leaving her side. She was worried he might go out alone again and cause another commotion like earlier.

 

“But why did you go out alone on your own, Gid… Was this place too confining?”

 

At her voice, which came out much weaker than usual, the black dragon desperately wanted to answer.

 

Because you had a fever. I wanted to cool you down with snow.

 

But the sounds he made couldn’t become human language. They only became growling sounds like “grroong.”

 

Did I make things harder for you?

 

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make things difficult for you.

 

Your body is still hot, are you okay?

 

Are you in pain because of the wounds I caused?

 

I’m sorry…

 

His worry and apologies couldn’t properly reach her.

 

To Rita, the small dragon in her arms only seemed to be grumbling “grrooo, grong” and squirming to escape from her embrace.

 

“From now on… don’t go anywhere alone.”

 

She blinked her drowsy eyes and patted the dragon while holding him tight like a doll.

 

“Let’s sleep together now, Gid…”

 

Her words trailed off as she fell fast asleep. Just like right after receiving divine power treatment, it was sleep close to unconsciousness.

 

-Grong?

 

Gid’s murmuring couldn’t wake her from her sleep.

 

Wait, we’re going to sleep like this?

 

His dim self-awareness suddenly became clear due to the monster’s mind that made deep thinking difficult.

 

‘Even though I’ve become like this, Rita, I know you’ve never had much awareness of such things, but still, I’m… a man.’

 

He remained stiffly in her arms, flustered, then suddenly startled.

 

Sensations that hadn’t been very strong when she was only finger-sized compared to his giant form now hit him intensely. The scent of human flesh, no, her flesh filling his nose, and the body heat transmitted throughout his body. The incredibly soft skin.

 

‘…!’

 

He struggled to escape her embrace, but immediately stopped when the sleeping Rita reflexively hugged him tighter.

 

If he used more force, the spines covering his body might stand up and injure her.

 

‘…I’d rather fall asleep quickly.’

 

The black dragon relaxed his body as much as possible and went limp. He tried not to focus on the excessive stimuli.

 

Then a scent that felt sweet in a different way filled his entire body, making saliva pool in his mouth.

 

It looks delicious.

 

I’m hungry. I’ve been starving for too long.

 

I want to eat. I want to eat anything.

 

Devour it!

 

Human flesh. The monster’s appetite stimulated by it. The chilling craving crawling up his throat.

 

His mouth opened involuntarily. Saliva that flowed between his teeth dripped onto Lillieta’s arm as she held him.

 

At that sight, he suddenly came to his senses.

 

No, I absolutely must not eat this.

 

This is Rita.

 

The most precious of all.

 

Her skin. Her warmth. The profound and desperate relief that rose from them.

 

The monster uttered a cry that couldn’t become language, like a monologue.

 

I can only live if you’re here.

 

I need you.

 

Don’t disappear.

 

Stay by my side.

 

The purpose that made the human named Gid Pascal willingly leap into countless deaths and endless repetition. The reason. The wish.

 

What made him move forward. What made him despair. What broke him down. What supported him.

 

The goal that had even consumed his self-awareness.

 

Or obsession. Compulsion. Tenacity.

 

Or perhaps, the only humanity remaining in his corrupted soul.

 

The one thing he had barely regained by sacrificing everything again and again was here.

 

The monster’s appetite was truly insignificant compared to that immense longing.

 

The dragon suppressed his raging hunger and quietly closed his eyes in his precious one’s embrace.

 

* * *

 

March 4th, 821.

 

‘After sleeping and waking up, my physical condition has improved considerably.’

 

Lillieta immediately began making Ode concentrate after eating breakfast brought by a child who was running errands in place of the injured Rupert.

 

‘I need to make this and get a bit more treatment so I’ll need less divine power healing.’

 

The primitive method of making Ode concentrate wasn’t much different from the simple Ode aptitude test method. The test she had done to check this body’s Ode aptitude right after becoming ‘Lillieta.’

 

Originally, the Command’s official Ode aptitude measurement method involved injecting Ode concentrate and observing the reaction, so it was natural.

 

‘There’s no paper in this era. Parchment would be hard to obtain in a cave environment… So they use this kind of tree bark.’

 

When she requested writing materials, the box Rupert had brought contained thinly flattened birch bark, a bottle of ink with a strangely murky and faint burnt smell, and a strangely luxurious quill pen.

 

The ink and tree bark seemed to be self-made by the cave people in their harsh environment, while the quill pen appeared to be either an item brought from the Holy Empire or belonging to Shadea Kingdom refugees.

 

Rita drew blood from her fingertip and dropped it generously into the ink bottle to mix it. To draw magic circles that collect Ode in a situation without being a mage or having magic circle tools, it was better to mix blood with the ink.

 

‘Drawing entirely with blood would be most effective, but… I have to draw a lot.’

 

She drew Ode collection magic circles with blood-mixed ink on each piece of tree bark. She used almost all the bark Rupert had generously stored.

 

Then she took out the leather pouch from the box and gauged its size.

 

‘Glass bottles must have been hard to obtain after all. I can roughly understand the supply situation. But anyway, hmm… this is quite big. I guess I can just drink an appropriate amount.’

 

The reason for dividing potions into small glass bottles was to gauge the drinking dosage. Ordinary people get poisoned if they drink too much healing potion.

 

In Rita’s case, she didn’t need to worry about potion poisoning due to her constitution, but she had to be careful about overusing Ode concentrate.

 

‘A reaction will come before going berserk, so I can control it sufficiently while drinking.’

 

She put down the leather pouch and took out the large wooden funnel, pine resin, cloth pieces, and other items from the box.

 

She carefully attached the tree bark pieces with drawn magic circles to the inside of the funnel one by one with melted pine resin.

 

Compared to drawing Ode collection magic circles, this was simple repetitive labor that didn’t require much thought. While moving her hands, she pondered her goals after recovery.

 

‘The fleeing Imperial soldiers will report what they saw in the cave. Then probably a larger army will come.’

 

Even if she caught and killed all the defeated soldiers, it wouldn’t stop the Empire’s continued attacks.

 

The fact that the Holy Empire sent a force of that scale means they already know about the cave’s location and the Witch. When news from the unit is cut off, they’ll naturally investigate the cause and send a stronger follow-up force.

 

‘There’s no way the National Foundation Day doesn’t know this. They must be worrying about it.’

 

They probably discovered the cave’s location by tracking the surviving Prince of Shadea, but even if the prince and kingdom refugees leave for somewhere else now, it won’t prevent the cave from being attacked.

 

Since the Holy Empire has discovered that the fugitives aren’t just a few people, but have gathered together to form an entire village.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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