In the courtyard of Cecil Palace, Betty and Enya were admiring a new ice sculpture before the fountain. The sculpture was lifelike and truly looked like Tir herself. She had most likely fallen asleep beside the pool and accidentally been frozen into that pose, and because Elemental Creatures turned into transparent ice crystals once completely frozen, people had mistaken her for a crafted ice sculpture.
The two hatchlings who had sneaked over from the Tarlonnd embassy to play were currently sprawled beside Tir's ice sculpture. The excited little ones were practicing an indispensable dragon talent, taking turns using tiny bursts of Dragon Breath to roast Tir's thoroughly frozen tail. Amber, ever eager for chaos, was helping beside them, directing the two hatchlings to adjust their firepower while sprinkling salt, cumin, and black pepper over Tir's tail.
Not far away, Gawain stood with Heti, watching the heartwarming scene beside the fountain—yes, truly heartwarming. Heti could not help smiling helplessly. "Every winter, Tir always manages to do something unexpected... Come to think of it, this is the first time I've learned that sirens really do become transparent like ice blocks when they freeze solid?"
"They're Elemental Creatures, after all," Gawain said with a smile. "And what do you mean, every winter? Since when has Tir's nonsense ever been seasonal?"
"That's true," Heti said after thinking about it, smiling despite herself. Then her gaze fell on Amber again. "She isn't really planning to roast and eat Tir's tail, is she? Tir herself might not mind, but this..."
"Don't worry about it. She's just messing around. It's good for her to fool around with those two little ones for a while," Gawain said casually, before changing the subject. "Enough of this... How is the investigation into what Amun mentioned earlier? Any progress?"
"You mean