The Volkswagen Steam Carriage concept car was kept at Cigar Castle to serve as a guest shuttle.
Ugly as it was,
at least the Volkswagen Steam Carriage represented the most advanced technology on the Dragon Sleep Continent, marking the beginning of a brand-new Industrial Age.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
On December 25, Year 5584 of the Dragon Calendar, Russell woke from sleep as usual. The first thing he did was look at his bedside table.
A Jade Box sat on the bedside table.
Inside the Jade Box, Tobacco Elf Nicole lay sprawled on her back, sleeping soundly. Her little mouth was slightly open, and she was softly snoring.
"Huh?"
Russell was surprised. "Nicole isn't curled into a ball anymore. Is the pain over?"
What followed was a faint sense of disappointment. The pain had ended, yet Nicole had not changed at all. This clearly meant that her evolution had ultimately failed. After all that buildup and all that Magic Tobacco sold, it had still ended in failure.
But soon enough,
Russell let it go. "It's fine if she failed. This wasn't the right time for her to evolve in the first place. As long as she hasn't been seriously weakened... perhaps there'll be another chance for evolution in the future. When that happens, I'll have Snowy help you with Dragon Flame again!"
As he spoke,
he reached out and poked the sleeping Nicole with a finger.
Nicole groggily opened her eyes. The moment she saw Russell, her eyes lit up, and she immediately flew into the air.
She gestured at Russell.
"Hm?" Russell asked. "What do you want?"
Nicole then gestured beside her mouth, miming the act of smoking. "Eegu, eegu?"
"You want to smoke?"
"Eegu!"
"All right, I'll give you a cigar to play