Chapter 2184: Riding the Dragon

Chapter 2184: Chapter 2184: Riding the Dragon

"An ancient sword stronger than a Night Watchman... I’m really looking forward to it. Imagine a God Summoner raising a Holy Sword and shouting ’Thunder God, ahem, I mean Dragon God, assist me,’ and then the Silver Sword morphs into a fifty-foot-long Light Sword."

Mr. Edmund wasn’t amused by this joke, so Shard continued to ask for advice:

"Besides the Night Watchman, what other swords possibly meet the requirement?"

The old Folklore Scholar was not stingy about imparting his knowledge to Shard in this field. He thought for a moment:

"Couldn’t think of much in a rush, oh, the Sage-Level Relic Sword of the Wind King could fit; only those with Knight Spirit can wield it. There’s also the Angel-Level Relic, Pale Justice—justice is pale and humble but by no means powerless, it was the sword of ancient Holy Paladins. As for the Unclassified Level Relic, Sword of Diesel, which the Church used last year in Tobesk on the Night of Godfall to temporarily restrain the Deity’s movements, it doesn’t meet the requirement. Also, swords like the Keeper of Secrets Level Relic, Sword of the Lost Soul King, which is obviously related to Death and Dark, are not suitable.

"I’ve also heard of an Angel-Level Longsword, Ashes; could this work?"

Shard asked, referring to Sister Delphine’s weapon.

Mr. Edmund knew of this relic too, but he shook his head directly:

"Of course not, the Ashes Longsword is almost a companion artifact of Primal Fire, its inception would definitely be before the early Second Era. Don’t forget what I mentioned earlier; only the Holy Swords birthed after the Sword of Light might meet the requirement."

Since Emilia at home needed comfort, Shard didn’t stay long in Coldwater Port and quickly returned home.

It was clearly sunny in the morning, but upon his return, it was already gloomy and drizzling outside the window.

Angelina had left with the maids, leaving Emilia alone, sitting by the living room window with a chair, gazing outside. Since the indoor lights weren’t turned on, the room seemed a bit somber, and Mia lounged lazily on the windowsill, watching the scene outside, as it wasn’t its nap time; if not prowling its territory at home, it usually found a cozy spot to lounge.

Upon hearing Shard coming upstairs, the Elf Girl stood up and turned to him from the window:

"Shard, you’re back. If you have something to attend to outside, just go ahead; I’ll take care of the cat for you."

She truly understood, her eyes no longer red, and it seemed she wouldn’t shed tears out of reluctance, but the Outlander wouldn’t just foolishly leave:

"Aside from a dinner engagement, I really have nothing else today."

He said with a smile, hoping to lift Emilia’s spirit. Yet, the awful weather outside seemed to mirror her mood, and in the few minutes of their conversation, the rain intensified.

The pattering sound made his words awkward, and as the light and shadow intertwined indoors and out, Emilia’s face, standing by the window with her back to it, was cast in shadow, even her shimmering golden hair appeared dull at this moment.

Emilia lowered her head, then stepped forward quickly, throwing herself into Shard’s arms. Shard stiffened for a moment, then opened his arms to embrace her. The light in the room grew dimmer, and the sound of raindrops hitting the window glass grew louder, making the atmosphere increasingly awkward and peculiar.

Luckily, it wasn’t just the Outlander and the Elf in the house. Shard, forced to hold Emilia, looked over to where the cat was watching scenery on the windowsill. Its big eyes seemed to understand his silent plea for help because it stood up, turned around, and sweetly meowed at Shard:

"Meow~"

The cat’s meow almost immediately dispelled the current awkwardness, and Emilia hastily pushed away from Shard’s embrace. Shard pretended nothing had happened, went to the window, and picked up the cat. But just when it thought Shard would cradle it, he instead placed it on Emilia’s head.

"Meow!"

"Shard, please don’t tease me."

The Elf Girl complained with teary eyes but suddenly broke into a laugh. She took the cat off her head, and then Mia, struggling, jumped back onto Shard.

Although the house remained dim, the atmosphere had already been completely altered by the cat snuggling in Shard’s arms.

Shard intended to turn on the lights but felt perhaps Emilia left them off on purpose. Compared to before, now it was him standing by the window. The black shadow almost completely covered the Blonde Elf, but she still looked up at him from within his shadow, in those emerald eyes...

"As promised, let me take you out for a spin."

Listening to the rain behind him, Shard immediately changed his offer:

"Actually, there are quite a few indoor activities that are interesting; how about we go to..."

Concert Halls and the Opera House don’t have performances in the morning, and the Jasmine Troupe performing near the Three Cats Inn is outdoors, definitely closed now. Emilia visited Yordle Palace and the Prophet’s Society a few days ago, and if he took her to Galina Manor outside the city, it would take too long and delay catching the train in the evening.

Shard knew a few clubs in the city, but Emilia wouldn’t enjoy those semi-social occasions. Surprisingly, he couldn’t think of any fun places in the city for the moment; he couldn’t just take Emilia to sit in the city library all day.

The Elf continued to look up at him, and the ’she’ in his ear suddenly laughed, prompting Shard to ask for help:

"Could you give me some suggestions?"

[Doesn’t your house have many doors?]

"No, no, how could I tell Emilia such things?"

Shard immediately objected, wanting to keep some secrets as secrets despite his goodwill toward the Elf Girl. But Shard truly wanted to give the Elf Girl a perfect Tobesk summer story ending, and just as he felt his head would start whirring like a fan in distress, the Elf Girl spoke on her own:

"The secret potion you wanted, I’ve already asked for it from home. But because this magic potion hasn’t been very useful these past years, we can only provide three bottles."

She gestured to the dining table, where three small wooden bottles were neatly arranged. Shard followed her guidance to look, and the elf girl quietly said:

"You don’t need to make any special arrangements for me, I... Just sit with me here for a while, talk to me, chat a bit. Many years from now, I’ll still cherish this rainy morning, cherish this peculiar and dangerous summer, cherish..."

Her voice was almost entirely hidden within the sound of the rain:

"Cherish you and Mia."

The guilt in Shard’s heart reached its peak, and after making up his mind, he asked Emilia, yet the elf girl’s eyes evaded him again.

"Emilia, would you like to go out for a walk with me?"

"But this weather..."

"Have you ever ridden a dragon?"

"Hm?"

The girl, who was brooding just a moment ago, instantly widened her eyes, looking at Shard in disbelief:

"What?"

She bit her lip, her face no longer showed the melancholy or wistful expression from before.

[The mighty Transformation Spell, in your hands, turns out to be for making a girl happy.]

"Her" voice appeared in his ear again.

"What else could it be used for... I mean, I’ve yet to experience transforming into a dragon under normal circumstances. Sooner or later, I’ll need to use the Dragon Form in battle. Instead of adapting to power on the battlefield, why not try it now? After all, there are three chances now."

[You always have your reasons.]

The laughter remained gentle, and Emilia, who couldn’t hear the gentle voice, asked half excitedly and half unbelievingly:

"But in a place like Tobesk, transforming into a dragon makes quite a commotion, doesn’t it? Even the Academy warned us beforehand that even in remote areas, there are defensive and reconnaissance ceremonies in a major archdiocese like Tobesk."

Despite saying this, her eyes, which seemed to be shining green, clearly anticipated this unusual adventure. Moreover, her hand had unknowingly tightly grasped Shard’s sleeve.

"Hold on, let me check the train schedule."

He led Emilia into the study, took out the train schedule, and stood beside the map on the wall:

"Alright, there’s no problem. It’s ten in the morning now; we’ll set off immediately to catch a train to Tok Town, about 60 miles from Tobesk Urban Area. That should take about an hour, then we’ll have lunch in Tok Town, and head to the northern wilderness of Tok Town. There, I’ll transform into a dragon, and with the Illusion Technique, discreetly bring you up into the sky. Even if we’re discovered, people won’t think much of it."

Saying so, he pointed towards the map’s Tobesk northern town:

"If my spellcasting can last long enough, we’ll fly there for two to three hours, return to Tok Town by four, and catch the 4:03 PM train back to Tobesk Train Station. Even if there’s a delay, you should still make your 6:10 PM train."

He felt this plan was excellent, and amidst the drizzling rain outside the window, he asked the elf girl whose hand he was holding:

"How do you feel?"

Emilia looked at Shard’s face, which was close in the dim study, somewhat shyly said:

"It would waste your Ever-Youth Leaf."

"No worries, I’ve found other magic potions to replace the leaf."

"But the Academy doesn’t allow leaving the city during off-campus practice without reporting it..."

"Emilia, honestly, do you care about that?"

Shard asked with a smile, prompting the elf girl to suddenly look up and hug Shard’s arm:

"I dared to leave school unauthorized, how could I care about this! Shard, I don’t care about anything else, this is the last day of the Tobesk holiday, I must ride a dragon!"

This was the original appearance of the elf girl when Shard first met Emilia.

Her excited little face turned red, as she bit her lip looking at the map on the wall, pondering something. Meanwhile, the cat in Shard’s arms meowed a few times, and Shard roughly understood its meaning, seems it too wants to come along.