Chapter 131: Brother, Don’t Be Too Mean to Ali

Under a sky as dark as ink, a stream babbled gently in the night.

A young female crouched on the bank, her lips pursed in a pout as she muttered angry curses under her breath. She was completely unaware of the dark figure slowly approaching her.

“Ali, don’t move!”

Laxus’s voice rang out suddenly, making Ali flinch in fright. She sprang to her feet, hands on her hips, and yelled, “Why should I listen to you just because you told me not to move?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Laxus’s towering figure striding toward her, his pace quickening with every step. Panic set in, and her voice trembled. “D-don’t come any closer.”

Her words did nothing to stop him. Instead, he moved even faster, eventually breaking into a dead run. Terrified by his aggressive momentum, Ali immediately dropped into a crouch and cowered. “Don’t hit me! I only said a couple of things to you, is this really necessary—”

A dark silhouette leaped right over her head, followed by the vicious howl of a wolf. Ali looked toward the sound and saw Laxus wrestling with a massive black wolf in the stream.

She had completely misunderstood him.

Laxus was a Dragon Beast; dealing with a wild wolf was a piece of cake for him. In barely ten minutes, he had subdued the beast and hurled its heavy carcass onto the riverbank. The wolf’s body slammed into the ground, sending loose rocks flying, one of which struck Ali’s hand.

She cried out in pain, “Laxus, what are you doing?”

Laxus hadn’t expected his careless action to hurt her and quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Now that the danger had passed, her previous sense of grievance surged back into her heart. Still crouching, Ali grabbed a stone and hurled it at him.

“I bet you did it on purpose! Earlier you blamed me for interfering with Ophelia’s delivery. Hmph, you’re so mean! I’m not going back to the Fuzu Tribe with you guys.”

Hearing this, Laxus frantically waved his hands. “I didn’t! You misunderstood.”

“You’re still making excuses! You were definitely being mean to me.” Furious, Ali picked up a few more stones and threw them at him.

Standing knee-deep in the stream, Laxus didn’t even try to dodge, simply letting her vent her anger. Blinded by her temper, Ali lost all sense of restraint. Without thinking, she flung a rock the size of a fist. The moment it left her hand, regret washed over her.

“Laxus, dodge!”

But her warning came too late. The heavy stone struck him squarely on the forehead, and blood instantly trickled down his face. Horrified, Ali dashed into the stream and pressed her own handkerchief against his wound.

“Are you stupid or just thick? Don’t you know how to dodge?”

This was the closest Laxus had ever been to a young female. His cheeks flushed with a faint red. “It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt. I’ve got thick skin; I can take a beating.”

Ali glared at him. “Who’s worried about you? I’m just afraid you’ll tattle to Ophelia.”

Laxus scratched his head foolishly. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Ophelia.”

They were so close that Laxus’s scorching breath fanned across Ali’s face, making her squirm uncomfortably. Her cheeks burned crimson as she shoved the handkerchief into his chest. “Press on the wound yourself.”

With that, she turned and waded back toward the bank. But in her fluster, and with the jagged riverbed stones beneath her, she twisted her ankle after only a few steps. Seeing that she was about to face-plant into the stream, she squeezed her eyes shut in terror.

Then, she felt a pair of large, scorching hands grip her waist. A second later, she was lifted into the air. She tentatively opened her eyes, met with the male’s tight jawline and his bloodstained profile.

“Hey, let me go! I don’t need you to carry me.”

Thinking she was uncomfortable in his grip, Laxus adjusted his hold, supporting her with one arm so she could sit securely in the crook of it. With his free hand, he patted her head.

“Stop squirming. The injury on your foot hadn’t even healed yet, and now that you’ve soaked it in water, you’re going to suffer.” ℯ

Reminded by Laxus, Ali finally noticed the waves of sharp pain shooting up from the sole of her foot. “Ugh, it hurts! This is all your fault.”

She weakly hammered her small fists against his sturdy chest, but the blows were soft and lacked any real force. If anything, it made Laxus feel strangely unsettled. It wasn’t a physical discomfort; rather, it felt as though something was tickling his heart. Unable to understand what was wrong with him, he only found the sensation incredibly bizarre.

By the time the two returned to the cave, the sky had gradually taken on the pale hue of dawn.

Inside, Ophelia’s cries of pain had slowly quieted down. A short while later, Tyler’s delighted voice rang out, “The Princess has given birth! She had three dragon eggs!”

Outside the cave, Moye was astonished by the news. Dragon Beasts typically only carried a single offspring at a time. He never expected that a petite, fragile female like Ophelia could produce three little dragons at once. Immediately after, his gaze darted toward the sky in the direction of the Holy Capital. Seeing no unusual anomalies, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Thrilled, he was just about to rush inside to check when he heard Tyler speak again.

“Ah, the eggs are hatching! It’s two little dragon cubs and one little female cub!”

Back inside the cave, Ophelia leaned against the rocky ground. Watching Tyler’s overly dramatic performance, she clamped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud. Across from her sat Zerev, watching Tyler with keen interest, a faint smile curling the corners of his lips. Under their intense, burning stares, Tyler’s face turned beet red, and he fidgeted awkwardly, completely at a loss.

Just then, Moye approached the cave entrance. “Mr. Zerev, is it a good time for us to come in?”

Zerev glanced at Ophelia, who offered him a slight nod. Only then did Zerev call out, “Come in.”

Having received permission, Laxus took the lead and strode into the cave, still carrying Ali in his arms.

Ophelia looked at the two of them, a teasing gleam dancing in her eyes. She wondered how they had gone out for a simple walk and ended up returning in each other’s arms.

Meeting Ophelia’s playful gaze, Ali scrambled to jump out of Laxus’s embrace. But the moment her feet touched the ground, a spike of pain made her stumble.

With quick reflexes, Laxus immediately scooped her back up, his voice dropping an octave. “You just twisted your ankle. Why are you trying to be brave?”

Seeing him act fiercely toward her again, Ali’s grievances returned. “Ophelia, it’s all Laxus’s fault! He’s the reason my foot got hurt. You have to avenge me!”

Ophelia nodded soothingly before her eyes drifted to her brother’s forehead. “Laxus, your head…”

Hearing her mention Laxus’s injury, Ali guiltily lowered her head. She mumbled under her breath, “Ophelia, I was the one who…”

Laxus stepped in front of Ali, shielding her. “I was careless and bumped into a rock. It has nothing to do with Ali.”

His quick defense was a glaringly obvious cover-up. Seeing Laxus actively taking the blame for Ali, Ophelia simply chuckled.

Ali, however, bit her lip in exasperation at his clumsy lie. “You’re so stupid it’s hopeless,” she huffed angrily. With that, she used the cave wall for support and hobbled out of the cavern as fast as she could.

Laxus watched her unsteady figure with concern. He then cast a careful look over his sister, Ophelia, and seeing that she was in perfectly good health, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Her foot is hurt. I’m going to go check on her.”

Naturally, Ophelia wasn’t going to stop him. She nodded. “Laxus, although Ali can be a little willful, she has a good heart. Don’t be too harsh on her.”

Laxus looked slightly bewildered, not entirely grasping the underlying meaning of Ophelia’s words. He gave a vague nod and hurried out of the cave after her.