Miss Black Dragon Refuses to Be a Mount

"I wasn't trying to use the magic power inside Likaro to sustain my life." Xiya felt she needed to make this clear. "I can use magic crystals to supply my body with magic power. The Magic Spring isn't necessary."

"Then what exactly are you trying to do?"

"I want to study the essence of the Magic Spring and explore knowledge that interests me."

"This..."

Vidian had not expected this to be Xiya's true purpose. As expected of a witch, she really did love researching all sorts of things.

"I deliberately avoided contacting Likaro before because she was still too young."

Xiya did not want Likaro's childhood to become too complicated. Even if she wanted to study Likaro's body, she would wait until Likaro had grown up and ask for her consent first.

However, after everything Likaro had experienced recently, Xiya felt there was no longer any need to hide herself.

The Magic Spring Constitution was extremely rare, and its discovery would cause a huge stir.

Fortunately, Likaro was the child of a great noble family. Her father had learned of it early on and kept it very well hidden, ensuring no one knew about her Magic Spring Constitution.

Otherwise, she would definitely have attracted the covetous attention of many people.

"Now that we're done talking about Likaro, I want to ask what you plan to do now. Are you still going to stay here?"

"No, I won't."

Vidian filled her cup with tea and said, "I'm going to travel across the world and visit my old friends."

A glimmer flashed through Xiya's eyes upon hearing this, and the corners of her lips curved upward slightly.

That's more like it.

"But I can't set out right away, because I still need to teach Ailolin."

"Hm? Looks like you care a great deal about your Dragonkind junior. Don't forget that you were expelled from the clan long ago."

"So what? How could I possibly ignore such a young dragon?"

"Still as warmhearted as ever."

In truth, Xiya knew that even if someone from a non-dragon race needed help, Vidian would lend a hand as long as circumstances allowed.

The idea of only caring about yourself and disregarding everyone else simply did not exist for Vidian. Those were merely stubborn words she said out loud.

Xiya considered herself the person who understood Vidian best in this world.

To put it bluntly, she was just a tsundere.

"I contacted Solani through letters before. She's in Aidefalong too, right?"

When Vidian went to visit her other friends in the future, Solani would be the first person she visited.

Because Solani lived the closest to this place.

"That vampire? She is in Aidefalong. By the way, when she contacted you before, she didn't mention what she was doing, did she?"

"She didn't. What is she doing?"

"She's a nun at the Light Church."

Clatter!

Vidian failed to hold her teacup properly, and it slipped from her hand onto the table.

It seemed that while she had shut herself away in the Southern Wilderness all these years, the world had changed greatly. Even vampires could become nuns at a church now.

That was utterly insane.

"Hahaha, didn't expect that, did you? I'm curious how she managed it too."

Xiya took out a handkerchief and helped Vidian wipe the table as they began chatting idly.

Setting aside the heavy topics, they could talk for a very long time.

Meanwhile, in the clearing outside, Likaro sat on the ground with her back against Ailolin's body, while Guoguo lay in her arms as she stroked her.

The Little Black Dragon's smooth scales felt so comfortable.

Likaro was very happy that she had been able to play with the Little Black Dragon for a few more days. Though they had to part again now, she was not sad at all.

The damage Magic Outburst had caused to her body had yet to heal. She could not engage in overly strenuous activities right now, which meant she might not be able to learn swordsmanship.

But such a minor setback would not make Likaro give up. Vidian had said her body could return to normal someday, so she could keep waiting.

Likaro still had not given up on becoming a knight. Moreover, she had an unrealistic wish—to be with the Little Black Dragon in the future.

Just like in adventure novels, she wanted the Little Black Dragon to become her mount and companion.

Of course, Likaro knew in her heart that this was unrealistic. The Little Black Dragon did not want to become a mount.

And the Little Black Dragon was her friend. How could she possibly force a friend to do something she disliked?

Ailolin was looking down at Likaro at that moment, and Guoguo also raised her head to meet her gaze.

Ailolin remembered that Guoguo seemed to be called Sulana.

She also possessed high intelligence, but Ailolin did not know how to communicate with her.

If only she could communicate with Guoguo. Ailolin truly wanted to ask why, as a wolf, she only liked eating vegetarian food.

"Mm, Little Black Dragon, we have to separate again~"

Likaro closed her eyes, her voice carrying a trace of reluctance.

Ailolin sensed Likaro's feelings, but she could not give her a hug like an ordinary friend could.

So she could only remain silent.

Likaro was her first good friend. When she had the chance in the future, she would definitely go find her again to play.

Ailolin looked forward even more to learning Transformation Magic as soon as possible.

Once she had a humanoid body, Ailolin would be able to do many things to express her friendship, such as hugging each other or doing things friends could do together.

With Ailolin's current size, hugging or roughhousing with Likaro would lead to terrible consequences.

Unlike their last parting, the weather today was bright and clear, without any of the sorrowful atmosphere from that snowy night.

Vidian and Xiya came out of the house. Their conversation had ended, mainly because they needed to take Likaro home first. Otherwise, they could have chatted until nightfall.

"Get ready to leave."

Xiya came over and patted Likaro's head. Though Likaro did not really like having others pat her head, she strangely could not bring herself to dislike it when Xiya did it.

Besides, who exactly was this big sister?

"Xiya, I'll come visit you when I have time."

As Vidian spoke, she walked over to Ailolin and stopped beside her. Seeing this, Likaro felt a little unhappy.

She walked over and gave Vidian a hug, saying sincerely, "Thank you, kind Sister Vidian."

"Mm..."

It seemed Vidian had not been called that in a very long time, and she was momentarily at a loss.

Finally, Likaro went over to Ailolin, gently rubbed her cheek against her scales, and said, "Goodbye, Little Black Dragon."

"Mm, goodbye."

"Then I'll take her home now."

Xiya came over and took Likaro's hand. Although Likaro did not know her yet, she would introduce herself along the way.

Ailolin and Vidian stood where they were and watched them leave.

Guoguo, who was following at their side, suddenly turned back and gave Ailolin a cry.

Though Ailolin could not understand her, she could guess what Guoguo meant.

Guoguo was saying goodbye to her too.

PS: The real timeline of this book is almost here too. (Drinks tea)

By the way, I tried breaking up the long sentences in this chapter, so every paragraph ended up rather short. What do you think? Is this better?

Would you prefer it more spread out, or more compact?

Childhood Friend in a Distant Place

After seeing Likaro and the others off, Vidian prepared to have a talk with Ailolin.

"You've mastered almost all the knowledge I can teach you. All that remains is for you to properly consolidate your Dragon Language Magic."

Dragon Language Magic was actually very simple. One merely needed to use the corresponding words to cast spells, so Vidian wanted Ailolin to memorize various common Dragon language magic combinations.

As for those difficult and complex Dragon Language Magic spells, Ailolin would have to discover and study them herself.

Casting spells through words was a wondrous thing. Different combinations of words produced different effects.

This brought endless possibilities and gave Ailolin something to study for a very long time.

"Dragon Language Magic can also be used to strengthen your body. You can give it a try."

"What should I say to strengthen my body?"

Vidian thought for a moment before saying, "Use [Wind] and [Enhancement], then apply the target to yourself."

After hearing Vidian's explanation, Ailolin immediately gave it a try.

Sure enough, the effects of wind-element magic power made her body feel lighter than before. She could not resist taking to the air and found flying much easier than it had been.

She circled through the air a few times before landing on the ground again.

There was very little wind-element magic power inside Ailolin. After only a few dozen seconds, the strengthening effect on her body faded.

She felt rather disappointed by this. Such a short duration was really not very useful.

Vidian smiled and comforted her. "Don't worry. Once you grow up, you'll have much more magic power than this."

"Mm."

Still, Ailolin had prepared herself mentally in advance. Even once she truly reached adulthood, her maximum magic power would not measure up to the average level.

"Alright, get some rest first."

After Ailolin lay down on the ground, Vidian lazily leaned against her, just as Likaro had done before.

Ailolin felt a little emotional. There was no longer much distance between Vidian and herself.

Although Vidian had occasionally made jokes before, she would never have acted like this. In front of Ailolin, she had still often maintained a serious demeanor.

But now, Vidian truly regarded her as a friend.

"Ailolin, do you want to know who your parents are?"

"My parents?"

Ailolin had not thought about that topic for a long time. She had nearly forgotten that she had a dragon father and dragon mother in this world.

The Dragonkind inheritance contained only the surname Fornoscoft. Even Vidian, a senior Black Dragon, had never heard of that surname.

In fact, even if Ailolin's dragon father and mother appeared before her now, her emotions would not fluctuate much.

They were complete strangers, after all. There was no emotional foundation between them.

"Although I don't know why you were abandoned..." Vidian had always believed that Ailolin had been abandoned in Aidefalong. "I still suggest that you find a Black Dragon clan and meet some Dragonkind elders."

Ordinary Dragonkind elders generally possessed information about their entire clan. They might know something about Ailolin's surname as well.

There were many Dragonkind clans, but they generally maintained contact with one another. Therefore, Ailolin only needed to find any Dragonkind clan.

Moreover, Dragonkind tradition required young dragons to find the clan chief not long after birth and "register."

Put simply, it meant letting Dragonkind elders know that a dragon named Ailolin existed. It would make things more convenient when Ailolin needed help in the future.

If Ailolin had been abandoned and her parents had not registered her information, then it was still necessary for her to go herself.

Vidian shared the rough location of the nearest Dragonkind habitat. Once Ailolin reached that place, she would need to search for stone tablets carved with Dragon language and use the clues to find the clan's location.

But the location Vidian gave was far too distant from here. It was not even within the Empire, making it a true journey for Ailolin.

As for whether she wanted to go... Ailolin did. She might be able to learn the truth about her birth.

"Although the border is on alert right now, you don't need to pass through the Empire. Just fly east from here."

"..."