Wise sucked in a sharp breath as he observed the woman next to him.
Tyris was naked and yet she was being so clingy...
He gently held her shoulder and pushed her back slightly, the water rippling as he did.
Tyris glanced at the distance between them and, as though she was only now realising that she had no clothes on, her face blushed red and she submerged her head below the water.
Wise sighed and watched air bubbles slowly trickling to the surface.
"One, two, three..."
Then after a few seconds—
"Haaaa—!"
Tyris retreated back to the surface of the water and took in a large breath, her face bright pink from almost drowning.
Surprisingly, as she emerged, she was no longer completely naked; she had a brown shirt on that glued to her body due to the water.
"Oh, I had it on when I came in, but I wrapped it around my leg so that I could feel the water... properly," Tyris said, noticing his confusion.
Since knowing Tyris, she had shown him so many sides already.
The aggrieved mother who wanted vengeance for her daughter, Mr Anonymous, the arena favourite, and Tyris, one of the Queen’s shadows.
’I wonder what version of her I’m going to see today.’
"So tell me, Wise, what are you doing in Domum? I thought you would be back in your forest by now," the blonde Ork said, her confidence fully returned, having been clothed.
Only Wise remained naked, but he was too lazy to swim to the river bank.
The important parts were underwater after all.
’Wait, didn’t she go under—!’
Wise’s gaze narrowed as he watched Tyris. "Perv."
Tyris’ mouth hung open. "Perv? How am I the perv here... oh."
She immediately raised her hands to defend herself. "I was too busy trying not to drown, of course I didn’t have time to check whatever you are hiding down there!"
"If you say so," Wise said with a deadpan expression.
Tyris took a deep breath then sighed.
"What are you doing here?" She was trying to change the topic.
"I had business in the city," he replied, keeping his response brief and as shallow as possible.
"I’m guessing since you know my real name, news in Teasei has spread?"
Tyris swayed to the left as she used her feet to paddle her body slightly. "Of course, practically everyone knows that you were just pretending."
She stared up at the sky, her eyebrows wrinkling slightly. "But I do have to compliment you, I knew you had your fair share of secrets but the dragon... that was shocking." The source of thɪs content is novel·fire·net
’Of course my acting is impeccable,’ Wise praised himself.
"So did the Queen send you to find me and Aofie? Or are you going to tell me that your being here is a coincidence?"
Tyris stopped swimming and her lips pressed into a thin line.
"About that... I actually ran away. I’m here in Domum to find work, and also escape the Queen."
She was so direct that Wise did not doubt her words one bit. He had seen what the Queen did to failures and yet he still asked...
"What the hell did you do to piss her off?" He laughed.
Tyris frowned slightly and crossed her arms across her chest. "You already know how she is! Besides, it’s a long story."
"Mmhm, of course it is..."
"Alright, I’ll tell you, but only because you begged," she said as she began her tale.
"After you wrecked the arena and kidnapped the princess, the Queen got furious.
She beat everyone remotely close to her to a pulp and then killed the guards in charge of the arena.
I know you don’t know, but I was a member of the Queen’s shadow. A leader, in fact...
I knew that my head would be next so when everyone least expected it, I slipped out of the kingdom and took a boat to Domum.
I arrived just yesterday..."
She then pouted in a way that was strangely cute, considering that she was a warrior.
"That being said, I’m dead broke and homeless... that is why I’m bathing in a river."
Wise absorbed the information she gave him with a curious smirk.
Just like Aofie said, it didn’t look like the Queen was going to approach him directly.
"Such an... interesting turn of events. Well, thanks for the information." Wise turned around and began swimming back to shore.
"Hey, wait up!"
When Wise got to the edge of the stream, he paused and glanced at Tyris.
"Do you mind?"
Not needing him to explain further, she turned, allowing him to dress up.
He summoned his clothes from his storage unit and then tossed the messy ones into it as well.
After him, it was his turn to look away while Tyris got dressed.
And when he was sure that she was done, he began to walk away.
Wise waved his hand in a friendly gesture. "Have fun in the city, Tyris."
Crash!
Tyris crashed into his back, causing him to stumble forward. "Come on, no need to rush. I have a proposition..."
Wise cocked a brow, watching her suspiciously.
"What kind of a proposition?"
A wide smile appeared on Tyris’ face as she strolled by his side.
"You’re a dragon, right?"
"..."
"Come on, just answer, it’s important."
’What is she even getting at?’ Wise wondered, but he decided to indulge her.
"Yes, and?"
"I hear dragons are... rich. Basically, what I’m saying is let me work for you—"
"Absolutely not." Wise shot her down before she could even finish.
It was not that she was incompetent or anything. He had no use for a warrior like her.
But Tyris was determined to convince him.
"Every dragon needs guards! You need someone to stop anyone from taking your princesses, a guard to man the wall... a warrior to slay your foes?"
Despite his better judgement, Wise nodded.
"Keep talking."
Tyris smiled and hooked her hand around his.
"I am not only highly trained, I have years of experience under my belt and a rich portfolio. Best of all, all I need is food and shelter for the first two months..."
’A tempting deal... prompted by hunger.’
Although Tyris was speaking more of things that directly affected him, he was thinking in another direction.
What if he made her assist him in teaching the girls combat?
There might be some things he would find difficult to teach due to how fundamentally different they were.
Wise was not human, nor elf or Ork. He was a dragon.
But there was another thing on his mind, one that he would not admit out loud.
He stole a glance at Tyris, taking note of her pretty face and solid build.
She was like the model version of a pretty knight—having her work for him would only make him look cooler, wouldn’t it?
Especially when meeting dignitaries such as the princess he was seeing today...
Wise cleared his throat. "Hmmm. You’re hired."
Tyris blinked, her eyes wide in surprise. It was clear that she had not even imagined the possibility of him accepting her.
"Wait, seriously?"
Wise nodded as they went deeper into the forest, where Daphne and Mirabelle were.
Daphne turned to stare at them, then she paused, her eyes lingering on Tyris. "Who is she?"
"An acquaintance from Teasei, but now, she’s our official knight!" Wise tapped Tyris’ shoulder as he spoke.
"Come on, Mirabelle, we still have a lot to do."
• • •
After gathering all the ingredients they needed, they returned to the city, Wise carrying Mirabelle on his back all through that time.
It was already evening, meaning they had only a few hours until their meeting with the princesses.
Only after arriving at her house did Mirabelle finally hop down from his back.
As she hurried about to get everything they needed for the spell, Wise turned his attention to Tyris.
"I have a meeting today. You are my knight, so you need to look like one."
He shoved a coin pouch into her hands.
"Get something to eat, then get some armour from a Serpent Blade armoury."
He then walked over to Mirabelle’s bench and picked up a paper and pen, scribbling their address into it.
"Then head over to this place. Just give the paper to Freya, she knows my handwriting, and Aofie knows you."
Tyris nodded, but Wise was sure the thought of what she would eat was probably dominating her mind.
"Yes boss," she said as she took off.
"Wise?"
Wise heard Mirabelle call out to him and turned to look at her.
"It’s time."
In front of her, the herbs she had gathered were lined up in front of her, while some were in a small mortar.
Daphne sat at the edge of her seat, watching the entire process cautiously while Mirabelle began to prepare the ingredients.
"This treatment is not going to suddenly bring back your memories," she began, once again switching to her more serious tone.
"It will damage the seal, and over time your mind will slowly chip away at it until it is destroyed subconsciously."
She sprinkled a violet substance into the mixture before continuing.
"But you won’t forget your dreams at least."
Then after a few minutes, she began to whisper, speaking a language even Wise was unfamiliar with.
A pale green smoke began to rise from the mixture, as dark flames bloomed within it.
Wise crinkled his nose as it wafted into it. It had a slight lemon-lime scent that made his head spin.
And the seconds after inhaling the substance—
Kek!
Wise suddenly coughed up blood, as a large rune ring appeared above him. His head was throbbing, the pain so harsh that it took effort to think straight.
In front of him, Mirabelle had her hands out, still locked in her chant.
The smoke wrapped itself around the ring and twisted, only to shatter when the ring pulsed.
Mirabelle buckled, blood dripping down her nose.
She intensified her efforts.
The smoke slammed against the black ring, engulfing it and pulling at it only to shatter to pieces.
This went on for hours and hours.
Many minutes of continued trial and error.
Until finally...
Mirabelle slumped to the ground, her clothes covered in her blood. "I’m done!"